


Far, Far Away

by 123anime



Category: Bleach
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Romance, and zanpakutos, no Hisana, post-war against Aizen, there's fluff somewhere, there's only one OC by the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-17 08:18:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5861206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123anime/pseuds/123anime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She has been gone for ages; stayed away even after Yoruichi and Kisuke went back. She was Byakuya's childhood friend. After saving a red-pineapple-head and clashing swords with Ichigo, they end up meeting again.<br/>He has questions she refuses to answer.<br/>He has the pieces she doesn't know she needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _Before you begin: in this universe with an OC, Hisana doesn't exist._
> 
> _Rukia is Byakuya's sister by birth, and OC is Yoruichi's cousin, although she refers to her as "Nee-chan"* due to them being close and her being younger. The timeline is after Rukia is rescued and Aizen is imprisoned. Think of Far Far Away as an alternate universe that is more focused on interactions and social life instead of different groups trying to take over the world._
> 
> Also, this is one of my earlier stories. There' s only one OC, but she's the main character, and this was written back when I was really into First Person POVs. Regardless of the above, I still really love this story, so here it is :)
> 
> Note: I am updating original chapters w/ edits, edits are going very slow...
> 
> Happy reading : )

'Now it is night,' Yokoso says. I roll my eyes at her obvious statement. 'I was talking to myself, stupid,' she snaps.

My zanpakuto has been irritable lately. She hasn't gone out of her sheath for many, many years, except to see the plain walls and dust in Urahara's basement. Not that the basement is small, but anyone would think that a secret training ground would look drastically different than what it was a hundred years ago. Even the sidewalks outside are pale grey, the new concrete fillings long-dried but not yet been turned dark grey and cracked by the rain and Kami knows what humans dump on them.

'Well I can hear you,' I think back, shrugging my shoulders, 'You are in my head afterall.'

'Hmph,' I feel a flash of annoyance filled with hurt, and knows that she has turned her back on me, 'That is probably all I will ever be.'

The cool summer wind blows on the back of my neck, thin tendrils sweeping down my back through the neck opening of my t-shirt. We have had this argument several times since the huge battle in Karakura town, when Nee-chan and Urahara went back to the Soul Society with some teenagers.

We had discussed it once before all that, when Urahara came up to me one afternoon while Nee-chan was out, and Tessai was nonchalantly sweeping the doorstep. He hinted, in the most roundabout way possible, that Aizen's plan with the Soul Society was about to accelerate, and that staying here would mean we would be found out and fully involved. Yokoso had balked at the time, screaming that it would be suicide for me to even think about sticking around and wielding a blade. I, on the other hand, balked at the idea of being found out and seeing everyone again-all those who I had left without an explanation, without a goodbye, and I definitely did not want to speak to him again. Urahara had sighed, and said I was no fun, but told me to think about it. Nee-chan took that moment to enter the room, her cat tail sweeping the ground. After Tessai received a tight hug, I pulled out my Shihoine cloak and flew, far, far away, with Nee-chan's promise of not dying ('No one's faster than me, Tato-chan') and coming to get me when everything was all over.

It was after the battle when Yokoso started bugging me about going back to the Soul Society where Nee-chan and Urahara certaintly were, and join the reunion. We had a bitter argument, where I screamed that it was no use going back, for I could not even wield my own zanpakuto properly, and Yokoso retorting that I was using that to cover up the fact that I was too scared to go back.

Too scared.

Yeah right.

'I'm not scared,' I tell her.

Yokoso smartly avoids responding to that, 'This is not good for you. Hanging onto the past like this will get you no where. Either you face the past, or move on.' I sense her fading away, probably back into my inner world.

'Yokoso,' I smile at nothing in particular, fixing my eye on the bright streetlamps up the street, 'Try to cheer up, okay? Worrying isn't good for you.'

She doesn't respond.

I don't expect her to.

The light breeze keeps me company as I continue on my way home. It is strange, how after a hundred years, I consider Urahara's shabby shop, so very different from the manor I grew up in, home, without the tens of friends that I made. It is as if all those years were wiped away, leaving the important memories blurry, and the little things sharp. I am happy, I think, with Nee-chan, Urahara, Tessai, and the little helpers around. Yokoso is still with me.

And the blank space by my side?

The night air embraces me, and the moon shines, just as bright as his laughter was.

There is a sudden tickle of a giggle lodged in my throat, and a bounce to my step. I start skipping, one hand jammed in my pocket, clutching an indigo box.

* * *

 

 _Tmp, tmp, tmp, tmp._  I halt in mid-skip, my left foot raised in the air. The sound stops. I put my foot down slowly, and step cautiously out of the spotlight of the street lamp above my head. I look back down the street, but there is nothing, only the dark sky and shadows of houses and trees trembling in the breeze.

At the count of three, I spin around and start walking quickly. My footsteps echo loudly on the cement, and my shadow stretches long under the glow of the lights above. I can't skip anymore, unable to shake the feeling that someone, or something, was nearby.

Perhaps I had supressed my reliatsu for so long that I had gotten so out of practice that I couldn't even detect monsters properly anymore.

I supress a shudder, and turned to my old let's-stop-being-a-fraidy-cat-technique. I jutt out my chin and puffed out my chest. I had used it ever since I was five, and it worked every time.

"Oh well!" I yell, to no one in particular, as I continued walking home. I roll my feet onto my tippy-toes and stretch my arms out, indigo box still in my hand. There was no rattling sound, the hair ornament Urahara asked for cushioned firmly inside.

The old man had better pay me back later. 'If he doesn't', I think with a grin, then this would just be my gift to Nee-san instead. Apparently he had some big plans with Nee-chan next week, which is when they will be going back to Soul Society for yet another visit—I had lost track of how many times they've visited after they'd been cleared. Well, technically I was cleared too, but just…on vacation somewhere. This is one of Urahara's suprises for Nee-chan, but, well, I could surprise her too if he makes me pay for it.

_'Why do I need to go?'_

_Urahara touches the rim of his straw hat, 'You know her the best.'_

_'Not really, I mean, you knew her before I was born. And it's your gift to Nee-chan, She'd like whatever you give her.'_

_Urahara bursts into laughter, 'You know that's not true.' He is referring to the last time he made her a castle using canned tuna, and Nee-chan had punched him in the face, asking him if he wanted her to die with bad breadth by eating canned food. Although, he did appear at dinner with a wide smile while sporting a purple fist print, so she probably thanked him later anyways. He fiddles with his so-called walking stick, 'I am very busy, Tato-chan. You'd know what she'd like.'_

_'You would too,' I tilt my head, he was being more evasive than usual, 'And...you're going in a week. Why do you need it today?'_

_'W-well, just, um, just because.'_

_Well, if he was going to be weird with it...I won't say yes until I know what he's up to._

_'I want to go for a walk!' Yokoso pipes up suddenly, and I start. Urahara laughs._

_' Shut up, you're not a pet.' I stand up grudgingly, and walk out of the room, throwing one last glance in Urahara's direction._

Lost in thought, I stumble over the ridge in between two squares of the sidewalk and let out an involuntary squeak as a sudden wave of reliatsu hits me. My knees meet the cement and I catch myself with one hand, the other holding the gift box to my chest. I close my eyes, picturing a lilly closing back into a bulb, reigning in my reliatsu, letting it flow through me steadily to withstand the reliatsu but not let myself be detected.

I stand up and dust myself off, and nearly drop the indigo box and therefore die. Not that I am scared of Urahara or anything, but he takes things that happen to Nee-chan or her things (future thing) more seriously than anyone would imagine.

I start when the blanket of reliatsu lightens suddenly. Dammit, what the heck? I frown. Reliatsu fading as quickly as it appears is not normally a good thing. Though the thought of breaking my streak of lying low is unpleasant, if someone got seriously hurt from it-

The breeze blows on the back of my neck again. Perhaps it was just a false alarm. I shrug and mutter to myself, "Probably just some random Shinigamis patrolling. Stop being so paranoid, dammit, and go home already."

An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach and grows heavy with each step I take. I glare at the box with the hair ornament in my hand. "Bothersome thing," I sigh and stuff it into my pant pocket, "You'll be safe here."

I exhale and quicken my pace. I close my eyes and shout, "It's way too quiet here, even with Shinigamis patrolling. Come on, crazy neighbours, make some noise. Bang those pots and pans and set-off those fire crackers like it is New Years!" I step purposefully onto the road where there are no vehicles (because well, I'm not that stupid) and twirl and twirl around with my arms out, "I shall achieve uniform circular motion one day, mark my words. Look at me, I'm not worried. Well, if tonight was cloudy, I'd be worried about hollows and stuff but tonight's not cloudy, right moon? Tonight's not-"

I tilt my head up, open one eye, and freeze.

Well, shit.

Where the flip did the moon go? It's not cloudy, it's worse. It's foggy. I blink my eyes a few times in disbelief. Okay, then. I wouldn't have noticed if not for the bright glow of the moon, illuminating it's nearby surroundings, revealing the thin foggy wisps of condensed water particles around it. So much for another boring day. Thanks a lot to whomever made it foggy. 'Technically it was the moon's fault,' I thought to myself, 'I wouldn't have noticed at all if I hadn't been staring up at the sky so intently.'

' _So technically it's you're fault then, isn't it?'_ Yokoso quips, ducking into my head.

 _'Oh be quiet, you know what I mean,'_ I quip back, but she is gone again.

I let out another sigh. First the sudden spiritual pressure, now the foggy surroundings. Normally I'd transform into a cat and get the heck out of here, but then I'd be yelled at by Urahara for carrying Nee-san's present in my mouth.

I could go and check it out, just in case, but if anyone saw me

_...Even if everyone else was ready, I still am not ready to see everyone else again. Not yet, anyways._

Maybe I should go home.

I shake my head. If a shinigami died tonight, because I had turned a blind eye-well, technically shinigamis can't die, they already did. But still. It would feel the same. Someone they loved will still miss them greatly. Someone they love...

"Oh well, I'll just walk around a bit more then; that won't hurt, right moon?"

' _The moon cannot talk.' Yokoso is back._

_' I. Don't. Care. At least the moon is better company than you.' Yokoso chuckles and exists._

_'It's your funeral.'_

There is a sudden wave of new spiritual pressure, and the one from before is back, but very faint. They are so imbalanced that it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

What is going on?!

I quicken my step and head towards the scene, albeit reluctantly, and am met with a tall Hollow with a pointy nose-Menos Grande-firing ceros blindly at a shinigami...with a...

_Wait, what?_

Is that a red pineapple head?! Wow, shinigamis dress strangely these days... The shinigami looked strangely pale, and he swung his sword in mid-arc, almost too slow to parry it away. The next one he is able to dodge, but trips, falling on his butt. My eyes widen with horror when I see the faint puncture mark on his collarbone.  _Poison._

_'You'll need to get him to Urahara immediately.'_

_'Yes, I know! The problem is, what am I gonna do about the Menos Grande?'_

_' It's obvious. C'mon, you know I need the practice. And it's been forever.'_

_'But didn't you say-'_

_'You'll be okay. A few swings of me won't kill you. Just don't use shikai.'_

The Menos Grande opens it's mouth again and I strip out of my gigai. Drawing Yokoso, I flashtep behind the Menos, piercing its back neatly, carving the number one into its back. Its body cleaves into two, and a gate closes. The Menos is gone.

I walk over to the fallen red-pineapple-head shinigami and peer at him closely. His face is pale, but he is also breathing, which isn't so bad. I nudge his side with one foot, and hear a grunt. Reaching into my deep pockets, I take out a small packet of powder and dump it onto the puncture mark on his neck. The powder is something Urahara had invented, for weird but common cases such as these. They are usually self-administered, but, well, whatever.

He is not going to die, stupid.

I stuff the empty packet into my pocket and take a breadth, trying to steady my trembling hands. I give myself a pat on the back and shout to the world (though no one can hear me), "That should stop the poison from spreading for a bit! Time to get pineapple dude back to Urahara's! Level up for me for fighting Shinigami style!" I prepare to step back into my gigai and hoist the dude up, when an incredulous voice cuts through my moment of pride.

"Wait,  _you're_  a Shinigami?"

I whirl around and find myself face to face with a orange-haired guy wearing a black-why?! I thought I was done meeting Shinigami's for today? I narrow my eyes warily, "When did you get here, and are there any more of you?"

The orange-haired Shinigami nodded, "One more, but she's at home with Yuzu right now..."

'Who's Yuzu?'

'Yokoso, now is so not the time!'

"Good." I think of my goal, of hiding, of never having anyone find out, and find my resolve. I whip out my zanpakuto, sheathed and all (I didn't want to kill the poor guy), and swing it at his head, preparing to knock him out. Klang, his own zanpakuto blocks mine-Holy mother of god, his zanpakuto is huge! I pivot on my left foot and swing Yokoso like a baseball bat, but somehow this shinigami blocks every strike. Darn it. I momentarily consider going into Shikai form, but this shinigami didn't do anything wrong.

'And you don't want to die,' Yokoso adds.

His next words make me regret not going into Shikai form.

'So you do want to die? What is wrong with my mistress?'

"Why. Are. You. Doing. This?!" he yells between every time our swords meet, "We. Are. Both. Shinigamis. Aren't. We?"

I give his zanpakuto a hard smash and my sheath around my zanpakuto cracks cleanly into two, and falls off. I had been hoping for a clean, no-blood-spilt fight, that was going to end with him knocked out and me far away, with no trace whatsoever. "Darn you, orange weirdo; you're suppose to be knocked out by now!"

An anger vein pops, "Weirdo? You're the weirdo, bashing people's heads the first time you meet them!" retorts the orange haired shinigami as he swipes back at me with his zanpakuto, 'What's wrong with orange, anyways?!"

I block his strike and mentally give myself a shake.  _Tatomi you idiot, Get a grip! At this rate you're going to let go ofl your reliatsu fighting him and then how in the world are you going to be able to get home and keep your existence low key?_ I block his next strike and fly up into midair using my Shihoine cloak.  _Sorry weirdo, but I need to end this fast-_  then I froze. The orange-haired Shinigami whips out a Shihoine cloak himself, and flies into midair too. I stood, frozen with suprise as he whipped his sword at me, anticipating an attack. The surprise and confusion in his eyes mirrored mine when he realized I wasn't blocking it.

_Klang._

A green striped hat almost smashes my face and unfreezes me. I duck, and see that crazy grin of-"Urahara Kisuke, what're you doing here?" the Shinigami and I yell in unison. Then we turn to each other, "Wait, you know this crazy old man?!"

Urahara sheaths Benihime and gives us his signature salesman smile, "Can't let dear Yoruichi's present get ruined, can I?"

'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid Urahara,' I mutter and clench my fist tighter and tighter, eyeing the annoying striped hat on his head. We walk down the hall into the living room, Ichigo at the front, Urahara in the middle, and me trailing behind. It is courageous of him to act as a buffer between us, but he should remember that I am angry at him too. If I still had that hair ornament box I would break it right now, just to annoy him. As if he read my thoughts, Urahara turns around cheerfully, "Don't be like that, Tatomi. We have a guest over."

The orange-haired Shinigami's mouth drops open, "W-wait, you're name's Tatomi?"

I don't dignify that with a response. I step in front of Urahara and step sideways, silently resting my full weight on Urahara's right foot, and raise my eyebrow at the Shinigami.

Urahara's sandal breaks with a crack, "No! Those were my favourite, why are you so mean, Tatomi?"

"You say every pair is your favorite," I roll my eyes as Urahara started hopping around while holding his foot, broken sandal forgotten.

"..It's just kinda hard to believe that a violent person like you can have such an innocent name.." says the orange haired shinigami, rubbing his neck.

My eye twitches in annoyance. I am not violent. Not really. The heck when the first time I use my zanpakuto in a while, I am called violent.

"Uh, will Renji be okay?" he asks, glancing back at the door to where the poisoned one was resting as Urahara ends up disappearing first into the living room.

"Renji? Who-" I paused, "Oh, you mean that red pineapple head dude? Yeah, yeah, he'll be fine," Seeing the worried look stay on orange-haired Shinigami's face, I added, "Urahara knows what he's doing, even if he seems like an idiot."

He looks at me funny, "You-Oh, alright then." We enter the main room where Urahara holds uncivilized tea parties and the Shinigami rolls up his sleeve, then sticks out his hand, "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki by the way. Nice to meet you."

Him touching his clothing and reminds me of why I nearly let myself be killed. "Well then, Ichigo Kurosaki," I make to shake his hand, and grab his wrist and pull him into a headlock instead, "Where did you get that Shihoine cloak you're wearing right now?"

He tries to elbow me so I press down slightly on his windpipe, "Well, uh, I-"

"I gave it to him." My eye flickers to the doorway, where Nee-chan is standing, fully clothed, her golden eyes boring into my green ones.

Ichigo uses the distraction to wrench himself out of my grip. "Yoruichi!" says orange-haired-I mean, Ichigo at the same time as I say, "Nee-chan!"

"You're-" Ichigo goggles at me, "You're Yoruichi's sister?"

"Cousin," she corrects.

"But—why haven't I heard of you?!"

I ran up to Yoruichi, ignoring Ichigo's question, "Nee-chan, why did you give it to him? Grandfather said-"

Nee-chan smirks back at me, and says calmly, "To save the shinigami Rukia Kuchiki. Byakuya's sister."

'To save his sister? He has a sister? Do you know what he did to me?!' My thoughts are jumbled up, mixed between betrayal, confusion, and anger. I take a deep breath, trying in vain to steady my suddenly spinning world.

'Of course Nee-chan doesn't know,' Yokoso reminds me, 'You never told anyone, remember?'

Seeing my horrified expression, Ichigo jumps in instantly.

"What's wrong with saving Rukia?! She's a good person, caring, bad at drawing, but an awesome friend-I know she killed Kaien but she apologized, and Kaien was possessed by a hollow and-"

"A good person? An awesome friend?!" the plate I threw misses Ichigo's head by mere inches, "What do you know about the Kuchiki family anyways?! They're all the same!" And then Ichigo's last words caught up to me, "Wait..Kaien's..dead?" My anger vanished. Kaien was one of my best friends...

'And one of the few people whom try to keep you out of trouble,' Yokoso adds. My legs feel numb and Nee-chan wraps an arm around me, and guides me to the floor. Sitting down, the room doesn't spin as much. "Kaien's...dead?"

"We've been gone for a very very long time, Tato-chan. Lots have happened in and out of the Serentei that we didn't know about until now. I would've told you earlier, but it was a long time ago, and more recent matters were on my mind…" I turned my face away, well aware that Ichigo was watching the two of us. Nee-chan sighs and turns to Ichigo, "When I left the Soul Society with Urahara, Tessai, and the others, I took Tatomi along with me. She's been staying incognito for a long time with me," Nee-chan explained.

I bury my face in the crook of my elbow, "Tell him all about me, won't you,  _Nee-chan."_

"But why, why don't you come back to the Soul Society now, Tatomi?" says Ichigo, "You can, you know."

"I know..." I say, my voice muffled, "Nee-chan has offered to go back and pay everyone a visit with me so it's not awkward, but I...I just don't want to." There was a moment of silence as Ichigo's curious stare bore through my arms, at me. I sigh and straighten, staring straight into Ichigo's eyes, suddenly realizing how much he resembled Kaien, "You...really want to know?" Ichigo nods. My eyes blaze, but my anger wasn't directed at Ichigo, it was at someone else far, far away.

" I don't want to go back yet," I paused, "'Because I'm still mad at him. Still mad at...Byakuya Kuchiki."


	2. Appearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The phrase "Here we go again" is an understatement of our reality._

_250 years ago.._

* * *

"Nee-chan, where are we going?" I said, tugging on the white Captain's haori that Yoruichi always wore. It had two lines on the back, one shorter than the other "Where, Nee-san? Where?"

Our feet pad on the geometric rocks that lay on the path to a special place, Nee-chan said, a place where we'll have lots of fun. The sunlight makes Nee-chan's purple hair lighter than before, and my own black strands look a light brown.

Nee-chan chuckles gleefully, "Be patient, Tato-kitty, we're almost there."

"Nee-chan, call me Tato-chan, not kitty!" I say. I wait for Nee-san to respond, but she doesn't. Instead she hums a tune that I don't know and smiles mysteriously. Wait a minute, didn't she say we're almost there? I look up and see the Kuchiki mansion ahead, it's gate tall and intimidating. Mind you, the gate at the Shihoine mansion is tall too, but it's a friendly sort of tall, like a giant offering to protect somebody.

"What do you mean, Nee-chan?" I say, there is a bit of a whine to my voice now but I wouldn't admit it if someone says so, "All there is up ahead is the Kuchiki mans-" and then it dawns on me. Nee-chan is paying that annoying older child her weekly visit. An image of him walking with his friends, his cold eyes boring into mine when I had tried to say hi to him-the first and only time that I had tried to interact with him popped into my head. "Noooooooooooooo Nee-chan, not there!" I cling onto her haori, and deaden my weight, trying to pull her back, "I want to go home!"

Deaf to my protests, Nee-chan pulls me up to the door. Her golden eyes meet mine, and the edge of her mouth is pulled up into her signature smirk, " Why, Tato-kitty? You like meeting new people, remember?"

I shake my head, "No. He's scary..." Nee-chan sighs and rolls her eyes. An arm shoots out and gives me a gentle but firm push towards the door. I twist and duck under the arm and cling to the back of Nee-chan 's haori. Yoruichi sighs and gives me her Tatomi-be-a-good-girl-and-say-hello look. I shake my head.

Yoruichi tries to pry me away from her haori but I tighten my grip. I bury my face into her haori, marvelling at the softness, "Don't say I don't give people a chance. I did! You don't know what he's like, Nee-chan. He's scary...he doesn't talk to anybody except Jushiro" I say, remembering the days after my failed attempted to make a new friend.

"And you? Don't you do the same? You only talk with your friends," says Nee-chan practically. My face flames red and I nod reluctantly. Nee-chan sighs, throws off her haori into my arms, and walks up to the door. She raises her hand posed to knock, and turns back one more time, " I guess you'll just have to watch me eat up all the dragonfruit, Ta-to-mi."  _Dragonfruit?_  I perk up at the thought-but the Kuchiki boy was still too scary. I squirmed in place, but didn't move. "I'm serious," says Nee-chan, "Here I go-" I rush past her, knock on the door and stood as still as possible, telling my feet not to run.

Even with my back to Yoruichi, I know she is silently laughing at me. "It's not fair, Nee-chan," I say to the ground, "You know I'll do practically anything for dragonfruit."

Nee-chan really laughs out loud this time and tugs at my pig-tails, "It's your fault you like it so much. Now, pay attention because someone will be answering the door in a few minutes." I gulp. Oh no, not that scary person she was paying a visit to. _Please, please, please oh Kami-sama. Don't let it be that him..._

The door opened, revealing Ginrei Kuchiki.  _Arigatou gozaimasu, Kami-sama._  I must've said something wrong, because right then a wave of panic rushed over me and I said really loudly, "Ano, ohayou gozaimasu, Kuchiki-sama-" I clap a hand to my mouth, realizing I spoke too loudly.

"Ohayou, Tatomi-kun, Yoruichi-san. You seem to have a lot of energy this morning," says Ginrei Kuchiki, "Welcome. Yoruichi-san, I would like to have our conversation today, if possible?"

"Now, Ginrei-dono?" Nee-san looked suprised, "Oh, alright then. Tatomi..."

I smile and say, "Um...it's okay! I, uh, know the way home like the back of my hand! I can go back by myself!" Nee-chan looks at me sceptically, knowing full well I get really loud when I'm nervous...or scared. Or both.

"Tatomi can stay with my grandson until we are finished," says Ginrei Kuchiki, "He's in the garden by our Koi pond."

My cat instincs made me perk up at the word Koi-yes I have a cat form-and urged me to run and pounce on the Koi fish. I took a deep breath to stop myself. Wait, a grandson? Was he referring to the kid Nee-chan was going to visit? Oh no, there was no way I was going to stay here _-_

"Yes," says Nee-chan enthusiastically, "It's about time you meet little Bya-bo, Tatomi. Go on now, and be a good girl." To the pouting me, she mouthed the word 'dragonfruit' and I nodded very fast.

"Okay."

* * *

I hide behind a cherry blossom tree, gripped by uncertainty. 'Lets just hope this Bya-bo person is not the same one Nee-chan visits...' I think to myself. I peek around the trunk and get a closer look at the boy. I take in the black hair, as fine as silk, and the elegant yukata, and the way the belt is tied. _..Oh no..._

Sensing someone behind him, this Bya-bo turns around and looks at me reproachingly. Caught, I unwillingly came out of my hiding place. I was right, I think to myself, he is the same annoying kid whom Nee-san visits. I clamp my mouth shut as he continues to glare at me.

"What are you doing here?" he says finally, his blazing violet eyes examining me. Then he notices me wearing the Shihoine colours, "Oh, you're were-cat's relative." I open my mouth to say that Nee-chan wasn't a were-cat, but swallowed the meow that nearly came out instead. "What?" he bites out, "Cat got your tongue?"

I stared back at this Bya-bo person, unable to answer. Now there was an even larger problem. My eyes quickly flashed to the Koi fish again. Darn my cat instincts. I glance back, but the glare was still there.

_...See? Told you he's scary._

* * *

Byakuya stares at her, this stranger that he's never met until today, and then follows her gaze to the Koi pond instead, wondering why she was staring at the Koi so intently. After a while of silence, he sighs, thinking that it is perhaps his glares that are making her uncomfortable.

"..uh...My name's Byakuya Kuchiki," He offers.

She nods, "Tatomi Shihoine," she says quietly, pointing at herself. Byakuya wait for her to carry on the conversation like nobles were taught, but she doesn't.

This girl is too quiet, he thinks, the total opposite of Yoruichi.

* * *

There is a war of thoughts raging in my head.

Koi fish..no. No koi fish. But...no. No. No! No koi fish! No. Koi. Fish. No-

"Tatomi!" says a voice, pulling me out of my thoughts, "Time to go!"

Nee-chan? I turn around and let out a sigh of relief. I'm saved! No more Koi fish temptation, at least not for now...and…I sneak a glance back at Byakuya, who still is still glaring. He'd probably skin me and then roast me for dinner if I ate his fish, anyways.

* * *

_2 days later..._

I am sitting at the edge of the pond, watching the Koi fishes swim beneath me. Their long whiskers swing back and forth in the water. Taunting me.

_"Tatomi-chan, Kuchiki-dono wants to speak with me again," says Nee-chan when we arrive. She gestures to the Koi pond, "Stay here 'till I come back. Bya-bo'll be here in a few minutes to keep you entertained." I gave Nee-san a pleading look, but she misunderstands, thinking I am worried about Byakuya instead of the Koi fish. "Bya-bo's nice, don't worry. You survived last time."_

Koi fish..No koi fish; dragonfruit. Koi fish...Koi fish...Dragonfruit.  _When is Nee-chan going to give you dragonfruit?_  says the voice at the back of my head,  _Koi fish will probably taste better anyways._  Dragonfruit. Koi fish. Dragonfruit? No. Koi fish. Dragonfruit...Koi. Fish.

I stared at the pond, wishing for once that Byakuya would come and distract me (correction: scare me) with his glare. My mouth waters as I eye the Koi fish swimming...I'm hungry...where is Byakuya? ...Okay, that's it. If Byakuya doesn't come by the time I count to ten, I'm having lunch. One. Two. Three. Four  _(Kuso, Byakuya where are you?)_. Five. Six  _(Byakuya...)_. Seven  _(Kuso.)_. Eight. Nine  _(Byakuya?!)._  Ten  _(...)_. As if on cue, my stomach grumbles. I look around one more time. No Byakuya. My left hand flashes out, scoop up a Koi, its slippery scales deliciously scraping my finger pads and am about to stuff it in my mouth when something catches my wrist.

Suprised, I drop the Koi fish and it landed in the pond, spraying my face with water. Whirling around angrily, I come face-to-face with the person who had stopped me from having lunch, "Huh. It's about time you showed up, Byakuya!"

* * *

_That was the most words she had ever said to him._

* * *

"About time I showed up?!" Byakuya's voice rises, and so does his face in color, "What do you think you're doing, eating the Koi fish?!"

"I didn't eat it!" I yell back, angry on an empty stomach, "It's...It's not my fault you came so late!"

"I was changing into my outdoor yukata!" his violet eyes are blazing again, "If I hadn't stopped you, you would'nt've ate it!"

I pause, trying to think of what to say, but can't come up with anything. "...Well I didn't!" I take a step away from him.

"You're such an idiot, you know that?" He steps forward, not understanding the idea of personal space at all.

"An idiot?! I am not-" my foot slips on the edge and suddenly I'm falling backwards-Byakuya too because his hand is still wrapped around my wrist. We fall into the pond with a splash.

We resurface in sync, and I try to climb out but nearly slip again from the pond floor while Byakuya sputters and starts wringing out his sleeves. My teeth chatter as the coldness seeps in, "At least I'm not some narcissist who changes his outfits so often!"

"At least I'm not some idiot who made us both fall into the darn pond!" says Byakuya, gingerly climbing out of the pond. He offers me his hand, and I put my dripping wet hand in his, and pull myself up.

"Thank you..." I whisper, adverting my eyes.

"Yeah." He stands up and I see that his newly changed yukata is fully soaked. Despite our argument earlier, I feel a pang of guilt. So much effort for nothing. Those belts were a heck of a pain to tie on kimonos, the ones on yukatas probably aren't much better.

There is a moment of silence, where all that can be heard is the drip, drip of water droplets.

",..Um, why don't you go change, Byakuya?" I say, breaking the silence, "..I promise I won't grab the koi again-" I sneeze and try to give him a convincing smile at the same time.

Byakuya wordlessly goes to the bench beside the pond, retrieves his cloak, and drapes it over my shoulders. The warmth of the his body heat residue from earlier seems into my skin, and I can feel the water soaking his cloak at the same time. I open my mouth to protest, but he shakes his head, "Leave it on. You need it more than I do."

"..Okay…thank you again, Byakuya," I said, burying my face into it, "Hey, this is as soft as Nee-chan's haori!"

An anger vein instantly appears, "My cloak is not like were-cat's!"

"My cousin is not a were-cat!"

* * *

_A few days later..._

Sweat-soaked, Byakuya looks up, then plants himself into the at-ease position, still gripping his wooden sword, "Grandfather!"

Grandfather nods, and steps aside, revealing a familiar figure beside him, "You have a young visitor, Byakuya."

Tatomi is standing there, looking lost if anyone asked for Byakuya's opinion, wearing a dark blue hakama, face slightly pink as if she had ran.

A knot of concern that Byakuya didn't even know he had loosens at the sight of her still healthy after that incident in the pond—which by the way neither of them will ever bring up, they both had agreed. She had been sneezing after, and judging from the way Yoruichi wrapped her up when they left, he had thought she got sick easily. "You're alright!"

She flips a pig-tail behind her shoulder, and gives him a glare that must have been close to his own, because it makes him flinch, "Of course I'm okay!". He glares back, a heartbeat later, and she smiles, "Really, I don't get sick easily; just cold. I'm not some weakling. "

Byakuya wonders if he has offended her after all, but decides that is too confusing of a thought, and looks around instead while slipping his wooden sword into his sash. His grandfather had said visitors, with an 's', that is, more than one, therefore, "Where's Yoruichi? Isn't she with you?"

A sudden breeze makes his clothes flutter and his once tied up hair falls down. Yoruichi's standing before him, wearing a freaking kimono of all things, holding Byakuya's red hair tie as if it were bait.

"WERE-CAT!" an anger vein pops out on his forehead, making Yoruichi laugh.

"Catch me if you can, Bya-bo!" She's off in flying colours, a colourful blur through the air onto the roof.

It takes a moment for Byakuya to process this, then he uses shunpo as fast as he can towards Yoruichi, feeling a rush of great annoyance, "Give that back, WERE-CAT!" His outstretched arm misses her by an inch.

"My cousin is not a were-cat!" says a defiant voice from below. Byakuya glances down from the edge of the rafters and see an angry Tatomi glaring back at him. If he was a spectator, he would have laughed. She looked like a tiny squirrel glaring up at him, as if he took away her favorite acorn. He isn't a mere spectator, though, he is currently the person she is glaring at, and man, squirrels can be deadly when they want to be.

His next words pop out of his mouth by themselves. "She is too!" He yells back as he shunpos towards Yoruichi again. She laughs, her golden eyes dancing, and throws his red hair tie to Tatomi, who catches it with a bewildered look on her face. Byakuya jumps down too, his mouth open, ready to ask for it back.

Then Tatomi's facial expression changes, and she starts running up to the roof with his hair tie clenched in her fist, yelling, "Nee-chan **is not a were-cat!** "

This is stupid. Byakuya grinds his teeth and chase after her. He'd almost catch her a few times, but then she'd take a sudden turn and he would skid to the side. At some point, she tucks the hair tie into her kimono, and Byakuya can't help but despair at the thought of having to catch her instead of just grabbing it out of her hands.

They run across the roof, both forgetting that their caregivers are watching. Byakuya takes a flying leap, and pins her down. They both gasp for breath, and he suddenly realizes how close their faces are to each other. It is not a dignifying position to be in, as a noble, Byakuya knows, but he'd rather not have both Shihoine females laughing at him for much longer so he must endure.

Tatomi takes one look at the expression of conflicting thoughts on Byakuya's face and starts laughing her butt off. He frowns, knitting his eyebrows to appear angery and pinches her nose, "I won, now give it back."

Tatomi widens her eyes in innocence, but doesn't budge. 'No you didn't,' her eyes seemed to say.

"Tatomi," He gave her a stern look—well the closest to a stern look that he could muster in this very undignified position, "I want my hair tie back. Now." She raises her eyebrows. Byakuya sighs inwardly, before adding"..please."

Tatomi reaches into her kimono, pulls out something and throws it. Seconds later, they heard a splash in the Koi pond. Byakuya's eyes widen in horror. "You little-" He glares at Tatomi and she looks back at him innocently.

Byakuya makes a mental note to himself that Tatomi's innocence=the total opposite=a very, very frustrated Byakuya.

Resigned to his fate of swimming with giant fish, he gets up and prepares to jump in the pond to retrieve his hair tie when he hears a giggle escape from her lips. He turns back with narrowed eyes, "You think this is funny?!" At this moment, a strand of red catches his eye, and he sees it is coming out of her kimono sleeve. His hair tie.

Tatomi reaches into her sleeve, pulls it out and hands it to him. "You're the idiot," she says, still in her innocent face mode, "I wouldn't actually throw your hair tie in the pond. Do I look like I would do that? That was just the Koi food Kuchiki-dono gave me."

Byakuya takes it, tucks it into his sleeve, and pinch her nose in response.

"Ow!"

* * *

_3 week later..._

I dig my chin into the dip between his neck and shoulder, trying to get comfortable. It makes him shift his shoulders and his brush shakes. The once steady line on the paper ends up wiggling like a thread. "Why don't you go and bother someone else?" says Byakuya with an annoyed sigh.

He is kneeling at his desk, practicing calligraphy. His overflowing trash bin shows how much patience he had and how much times he failed. Perhaps he hopes to improve from the last time I saw him, not that it would be much different, all the characters looked beautiful to me. I kneel behind him, arms on his shoulders so I can see the swish motions of his brush the same way he sees it.

"Nee-chan's at a captain's meeting, and Soi Fon's with her. Urahara is someone whom I can't find at the moment," I say, watching his brush move up and down. _Sh. Sh. Sh. Sh. Drip. Sh. Sh._  I turn my attention to his face, and studied it closely. His eyebrows are knitted together in pure concentration, his features stoical for once. I let my head drop lightly onto his shoulders, and soon I am burying my face into his yukata. Again.

His brush strokes stop. A hand gently pries me away from his yukata, and violet eyes meet my green ones, "Now, how am I suppose to practice calligraphy with you burying into my back? Are you a bear?" he growls at me.

I tossed my hair back, a little sad at the loss of his yukata, "It's not my fault you're yukata is soft and cozy. Plus, you're the one growling, not me. " Byakuya scoffs at my comment and returns to drawing his brush carefully over the pages...

After about 10 minutes or so, he turns to me and offers me the brush, "Want to try?"

I shake my head and take a step away from the brush, "No thanks. You don't want your desk to be covered with ink from top to bottom," I pause, and give him a real smile, "Frankly, I'm just happy to watch you."

* * *

_A few years later..._

I fiddle with the hem of my sleeve on my way to the Kuchiki mansion. Two years ago, the Shihoine clan had presented me with my very own zanpakuto. Though I wasn't training to be a shinigami, Nee-chan said that learning how to wield it is a must in our clan, and that doing so can save my own life, and the lives of other people I care about. I met others training to become shinigami, as well as ones who were shinigami themselves, like Rangiku-chan who had pretty blonde hair, her friend who smiles a lot, a shy girl who is very kind, and a tiny child with eyes as blue as the ice on a pond, though I'm not quite sure how I know what that looks like, who Rangiku-chan and I like to tease.

Byakuya and I haven't shown each other our zanpakutos, but we speak about them quite a lot. His has something to do with cherry blossoms, which we laugh about because there are so many growing by the koi pond he fell in, that perhaps his zanpakuto had decided it liked cherry blossoms to embarrass his master forever.

I step onto the dirt road, carefully weaving around the carts and people walking by. I couldn't wait to tell Byakuya about how I tried meditating to visualize my zanpakuto but all I ended up doing was seeing lilies and daydreaming. My face bursts into a smile when I raise my head and see Byakuya standing at the other side of the road, and wearing-

I stop dead in the middle of the road and gawp at the sight. Byakuya? No, it can't be.

* * *

Byakuya looks up from examining the way his new uniform fits him, sensing Tatomi's familiar reliatsu. She's stopped in the middle of the road, staring at him. Idiot. He waves to her, expecting her to cross, but she doesn't wave back, or show any sign that she saw.

The flow of people and carts ebb away, and the road empties.

"Tatomi, what're you doing standing in the middle of the road?" Byakuya calls out, "Stop daydreaming already!" She doesn't move, a strange glint in her eye. He wonders if it is because of something he said to her the previous day that made her angry. Was she purposely ignoring him?

Suddenly, dust sprays into his face, and he looks left to see a large horse pulling a cart, galloping at top speed, straight to where Tatomi was frozen. "TATOMI, TATOMI, MOVE!" She doesn't move, eyes still wide open, looking at him in horror—ah, that's it but why in the world isn't she moving, damn it?! He in a deep breath and shunpos straight towards her, hoping to get her out of harm's way-

* * *

Byakuya is wearing a black shihakusho…why? Why was Byakuya wearing the uniform of a shinigami, the same version of the one his father wore when he died-something slams into me and the person and I am airborne for a few seconds, before crashing a few feet away from where I had been standing.

"You idiot! What're you doing, standing in the middle of the road? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" yells Byakuya, inches away from my face. His body's full weight is pressing down on me, but I have eyes only for the shihakusho his is wearing, now slightly torn at one sleeve.

The body of his father swims before my eyes, bloody, shihakusho torn at places it should not be torn, and dark eyes void of any light. I burst into tears and slap him full across the cheek, "Why are you wearing a shinigami uniform? Do you have a death wish?!"

He stares at me for a moment, one hand cupping his reddening cheek. The fury in his eyes blazes fiercely—he has never been this angry before, but I am too upset to care about this idiot throwing his life away for other people. "You almost got killed and you yell at me for what I'm wearing?!" Byakuya yells, his voice sounding strangled at the end.

 _Almost killed?_  I can't stop crying, but my horror has turned into confusion.

Byakuya points wildly at where I had been standing, "THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, DARN IT!"

I follow his gaze and I feel cold when I see that fresh tire marks were on the spot that I had been standing. Oh. My horror returns immediately, "That's nothing compared to what you're getting yourself in," I whisper, "Why are you wearing a Shinigami uniform? You're not a Shinigami. You can't be."

Byakuya pulls me into a tight hug, and I can feel his fingers shaking as they stroke my hair. He presses me into him, "Don't cry…Just don't ever scare me like that again." I nod, though it wasn't a question.

The mood lifts after a few moments, and Byakuya gives me a smile, "Guess what? Grandfather has enrolled me into the Shinigami Academy! It's going to be great, Tatomi. Then I'll be able to become a Shinigami, and a proper Kuchiki head too. Just like Father was."

I nod, trying to share his enthusiasm and not think about it, "I wonder why Nee-san didn't sign me up for it too..."

Byakuya gives me a horrified look, and rubs his cheek, "You're already violent enough, you think she wants even more damage done in the Soul Society?"

I frown, "At least I'll be there to make sure you don't get hurt!"

His eyes soften, "Is that why you wanted to come?" I look at him as if asking if he was stupid. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! I'll still visit you too, and I'll show you everything I learn!" I nod again, and return his smile with my own.

"Stay safe, Byakuya."

* * *

_2 years later..._

_"Tatomi," Nee-chan stops brushing my hair. She spins me around on the stool and tilts my head up so I am looking into her golden eyes._

_" Nee-chan?"_

_"It's just my instincts, but we might need to leave the Serentei for a while," whispers Nee-chan, stroking my black hair, though not purple, that feels so much like her own, "Prepare for it, okay?" I nod, understanding only that she was being serious._

_"Can I visit Byakuya and say goodbye?"_

_Nee-chan shakes her head, "I don't know if we will leave, and if we do, when we do, it will be in secret. " My eyes widen, this…Nee-chan would get in trouble!. "Don't worry, Tato-chan, you'll be alright. Just remember everything I taught you, and bring your zanpakuto along."_

_"But I haven't even fully mastered my shikai yet," I whispered back, fiddling with my new bracelet on my wrist._

_Nee-chan kisses me on the forehead, "In you're own time, Tato-kitty, you will find it. And for Byakuya, remember to always end a visit with him positively, and you will be fine."_

_But that was never meant to be, was it, Byakuya?_

"Byakuya, you idiot!" I yell, smacking him upside-down on the head, "I told you to be careful, you promised you'd stay safe!" I feel tears sting my eyes as I continue to yell at him, sitting by his sickbed. I had wanted to tell him about Yokoso's beautiful bracelet, and how close I was getting to the fourth shikai variation she taught me. Hearing about his injury from a group outing had completely derailed that thought.

He sit up slowly, wincing when he put too much weight on one arm that had been slashed, and yells right back, "Okay, okay, but sometimes people get hurt, understand? I'm sick of listening to people lecture me all day, and you just had to be one of them!"

"I thought you were going to die!" I yell, feeling a wave of anger, "Do you know how worried everyone was? You promised me-"

"I'm a shinigami now, not some toy made of porcelain. You don't need to worry about me, I don't need you to come visit me!" yells Byakuya, "I'm not some delicate flower that will break so easily, not like that" he says, pointing to the bracelet with a cat and lilly charm I had begun to wear.

"I-I..." for a moment I am at a lost for words. I had wanted to tell him about it, but not like this, "it is not delicate! It's my-"

"I don't care what it is," he screams, "i loathe this place. I've been stuck here for so long!" He proceeds to get up. Alarmed, I shove him back, trying to get his back to touch the sheets again, but he resists.

"Byakuya, I know you're fed up with this place, but you need to rest!"

"Let go of me, Tatomi, don't tell me what to do!" He wretches himself out of my grip, finger catching on the string of my bracelet. The shatter of porcelain echoed through the room.

I run over to the fallen pieces, scoop them up along with the gold string lying on the ground. Anguish and despair quickly turns into anger.

"FINE, BYAKUYA. I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!"

* * *

_Present_

I'm still angry, Byakuya...but on days like this, I just wish I had said a proper goodbye...

_"You...really want to know?" I said. Ichigo nods. My eyes blaze for a moment, but my anger wasn't directed at Ichigo, it was at someone else far far away._

_I don't want to go back yet," I paused, "'Because I'm still mad at him. Still mad at..Byakuya Kuchiki."_

* * *

"Nani?!" a deep voice roars from just outside the door, causing Yoruichi, Ichigo and Tatomi to jump with fright, Tatomi nearly headbutting Yoruichi's chin, if not for the Flash Goddess's quick reflexes.

"Mr. Abarai, please calm down," says Urahara, sounding slightly shaken up, his voice also coming from just outside the door. He too, was a bit traumatized by the sudden out burst from the man who was supposedly passed out with poison still in the process of being flushed out of his system.

"Damm it," There's a grunt of pain as the sound of the futon moving was heard, "I will not tolerate any anger wrongly directed towards my Taicho!" The screen door slams open, and the red pinapple-headed shinigami staggers into the main room where Tatomi, Yoruichi and Ichigo were sitting—well, they are all standing up now after hearing that shout.

Pineapple-head was only half clothed, with bandages wrapped around his entire chest, one hand leaning against the wall, propping himself up.

"'My Taicho'?" Tatomi repeats, her voice rising to a high pich at the end of the 'o'. She tilts her head curiously at Renji. So Byakuya achieved bankai already, while she was still stuck in shikai. Huh. "Well, obviously you wouldn't tolerate that. He's your taichou," she says, rolling her eyes.

Renji narrowed his eyes, and pauses for a moment. He shakes his head as if trying to wake himself up. Finally, "What's that suppose to mean?" he asks suspiciously.

Tatomi sighs dramatically and tapped the table with her fingers as if in impatience, "Are all shinigamis this stupid?"

"Actually, it's just him," says Ichigo, but Tatomi ignores him and continues.

"Byakuya's your Taicho. If you didn't stick up for him, then...well, let just say that would be bad for your health, Mr. Red-pinapple-headed Shinigami. Very. Bad. Essentially, just, um, terrible."

Renji looks torn between crying and laughing, because for some reason this woman reminds him a lot of Kuchiki-taicho when he is about to blow up at Ichigo, albeit not as stoical, "What do you mean, bad for my health?!"

Tatomi shrugs innocently, "Well...Senbonzakura may pay you a surprise visit and..." she trails off, then smiles, "Dice you up."

This time it is Renji rolls his eyes, "It's not just 'cause of that that I'm sticking up for my Taicho-"

Tatomi's jaw drops, "Wait, are you telling me that you are actually 100% loyal to Byakuya?" On the side, Ichigo blinks, realizing Tatomi has just used Byakuya's first name, which no one uses except him but well, he's different because he's never really learned noble etiquette and last he checked Tatomi is Yoruichi's cousin which means she should know how to address him. Jeez, those two must have been close.

Yoruichi has a pensive look on her face, and Urahara has slipped in to watch the drama unfold. Because Tatomi can be quite unnecessarily dramatic at times. Which is fun to watch.

An anger vein appears on Mr. Red-pineapple-headed Shinigami's face, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?! TAICHO'S REALLY COOL, ONCE YOU GET TO KNOW HIM-"

Tatomi just sighs, "You shouldn't be yelling so much when you're still recovering from your many injuries, Mr. Red-pineapple-headed Shinigami."

Renji's face instantly turns into the colour of his hair, "WHAT did you just call me?!"

"Mr. Red-pineapple-headed Shinigami," Tatomi pauses, lost in thought, "But since you don't even know that you're not suppose to yell so much when you're still recovering because that would put a strain on your body and raise your blood pressure and your face might turn more red than your hair-" Another anger vein appears on Renji's face, and Tatomi continues, noting the appearance in silent glee,"-so I might, no, I SHOULD call you Mr. Red-pineapple-headed Shinigami-who's-a-large-baka. But then-"

"URUSAI! Don't you ever shut up?!" the shinigami grabbed a roll of duck tape from the table, leaps at her and attempts to duck tape Tatomi's mouth.

"Pervert!" Tatomi screeches when his elbow knocks into her chest.

The arm underneath him grabs the roll of ducktape from his grasp and throws it at his head.

The Shinigami scrambles off, looking embarrassed, and the tape roll hits him squarely on the nose. "Ow! What was that for?!" Renji rubs his nose while glaring at Tatomi, who got to her feet, "What kinda person are you, hurting people the first time you meet?"

Ichigo nods, "That's what I want to know." This time a plate narrowly misses his head. "Hey!"

Tatomi crouches on the floor, facing Mr. Red-pineapple headed shinigami, who looked kinda liked Rudolph now, while dramatically swinging the tea kettle (which was empty, but no one needs to know),"What type of person are you, following Byakuya Kuchiki like a puppy dog?"

"Taicho is strong and powerful, what's wrong with sticking up for him?" Renji says, "And I am NOT following him around like a puppy dog! He's not even here!"

Tatomi laughs, "You don't even know the cold side of Byakuya and you're following him around?"

Renji flinches, "Okay, so maybe-"

"Maybe?" Tatomi's voice is strangely high pitched, and Renji is cowering like she is the one wielding Senbonzakura.

Ichigo is slightly pissed off because, yeah, Byakuya can be an ass but he also genuinely loves Rukia. He is also worried, because he is pretty sure Tatomi had been close to Byakuya too and just what the heck happened between them that is making her react this way-

"Okay okay," says Renji. He takes a deep breath, and waves his hands, as if trying to ask her to calm down. It doesn't seem to work, but Renji bravely perseveres, "Taicho may seems-" Tatomi raised an eyebrow at the word 'may'. "-cold and scary, but he really does care-"

She coughs, interrupting him, "Following him like a puppy dog."

Renji loses it, "I told you already that i'm not following him around! Taicho's just my-"

Tatomi's eyes widened, "Wait, do you have a  _crush_  on him? Aw...that's soooo cute!"

Her voice teeters for a moment, and Ichigo has a sudden brainwave: does she have a crush on Byakuya herself? Because Rukia gets like this sometimes when Inoue is talking to him and-

"WHAT THE HECK, NO!" Renji looks horrified, "I WAS GONNA SAY TAICHO'S MY IDOL, I WANNA BE JUST LIKE HIM..." he coughs, looking slightly embarrassed before continuing, "Anyways, like I was saying, Taicho seems really cold and scary, but he really does care on the inside. If you've seen him fret over Rukia, you'd know. He wasn't even going to let Rukia come with Ichigo and I on this Menos Grande mission until Rukia told him I'm with her and then we had to swear to protect from-"

"Wonderful," Tatomi groans, "Rukia's here too? Do I get to meet both of them at the same time?"

"You know Rukia?!" says Renji and Ichigo, incredulous.

Well, no, Tatomi doesn't know her, but she knows of her from Yoruichi's tales of their adventures at Soul Society.

Ingnoring Renji, Tatomi turns to Ichigo, "So are you normal, or do you idolize Byakuya too?"

Ichigo looked taken back, "Well, uh...Byakuya's cool and all but..." Ichigo scratches his head, looking uncomfortable. Renji is glaring at him, but Ichigo is essentially a good person, and is generally honest. Especially because he can tell that this woman, however violent she might be, is harbouring a lot of hurt feelings, "Yeah, he's a good friend...but as an idol? No." Tatomi nods.

"Hey!"

A plate whizzes by Tatomi's head, making her eyes snap back at Renji.

"Don't ignore Renji Abarai!" says Mr. Red-pineapple-headed Shinigami, "Taicho's great, and look, I don't know why you're upset, Tatomi, but if you tell Taicho, things will get better. Knowing Taicho, if you've got a good reason, he'll apologize," he says, meeting Tatomi's eyes with his own. There's a moment of silence before they both miraculously calm down and sit.

Urahara lets out a sigh of relief, because their conversation—converstation, hah!—had been going around in circles and he was mourning the loss of some fine plates that were cheap to buy—thank Kami Tatomi used the cheap ones and not the flowery ones he hid in the cupboard.

Tatomi sighs, "Yeah, okay, whatever," she looks down in her lap, "It's not really an apology that would fix it..." she mumbles. Then she pauses for a few seconds, "Hey um, Mr. Red-pineapple-headed Shinigami? Do you mind not telling your Taicho or Rukia about this? Like seeing me and all?"

"..." a sweatdrop appeared on Renji's forehead, "So it is possible for you to be nice. But sorry, Tatomi, no can do," Renji's tone is all serious now, "He's my captain. And my name is Renji. Renji Abarai."

Tatomi narrowed her eyes, "Are you telling me that after I rescued you from those Menos, carried you here and got my best clothes covered with blood and all, you're still going to tell Byakuya that I'm here?" she says, her voice rising dangerously. So it was stretching it a bit because she had been wearing a t-shirt, not her best clothes, but the nerve of the guy, honestly!

"Tatomin," says Yoruichi suddenly, "I-"

"You asshole!" yells Tatomi.

A plate whizzes by Renji's head, and the next one would've hit his nose and turned him into Mr. Brighter-than-Rudolph if he hadn't ducked. "Oi!" he yells, getting to his feet, "What the heck?! What did Taicho even do to you that made you so angry?!"

"It. Is. None. Of. Your. Buisness!" says Tatomi, throwing a plate with each word she said, her eyes swimming with angry tears, "Itisnoneofyourbuisness!" She throws one more plate at Renji, who ducks. At the same time, the screen door opens, and a hand catches the flying plate.

Both pair of eyes widened as violet met green, Tatomi's last words still ringing in everyone's ears.

"But, I want to know why you're so angry as well," says Byakuya Kuchiki.


	3. Before you leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Swallow your pride to tell the truth_   
>  _Tell me how you feel about you, me, us_   
>  _Pride is the cartilage of our spine_   
>  _Protecting both your heart and mine._

_"But, I want to know why you're so angry as well," says Byakuya Kuchiki._

 

He is taller now, much so than before. His raven black hair is pulled back, with strands sweeping across his face like blades. In the same way that my own pig-tails have changed into a high pony tail, his hairstyle is more mature now as well. We have both changed, but I would recognize that particular piercing pair of violet eyes anywhere. The shinigami uniform he use to wear is larger now, with a captain's haori that somehow looks elegant on him.

I am staring at him with my mouth slightly ajar, and he meets my eyes steadily. The old Byakuya would have snapped in an instant, but then again the younger me would have hugged him at once—I would not be staring so.

Ah, he is wearing the Kuchiki clan's scarf. It has always been beautiful, and it seems even more elegant now, wrapped around his neck. His reliatsu fills the space we are sitting in, endlessly seeping from his body. There is a part of me that wishes to turn into a cat—because being a cat would be so much simpler right now—and run over and rub myself against his legs, leap up and bury my nose into his scarf and inhale the scent so that I don't forget what he smells like.

He is good, I will concede that, at hiding his emotions now. His mouth is drawn into a thin frown, and his eyebrows seem to be knit permanently into a frown. He wears a mask of no emotions, and I wonder just how much his outings as a shinigami has changed him. "Byakuya?" I whisper.

This person...my childhood friend, the person I've tried so hard to avoid for so long… the only person other then Nee-chan and Urahara who knew me from when I was small... is now standing right in front of me, and I can't even bring myself to feel anything else other than dread. Hearing his name from my lips brings a glitter to his eyes. He is angry, which is stupid, because if so, then why did he choose to come here. Choosing to upset this balance of never seeing each other, never talking about our argument, without warning, is rather unfair of him. I am the one that is angry, he has no right to be!

"Taicho!" says Red-pineapple head, jumping to his feet with a slight wince as he got up too fast.

"Byakuya!" says Ichigo, at the same time, who looks just as surprised as me, "What are you doing here?" Byakuya breaks our stare to nods at them both in acknowledgement. His icy stare flickers to me again, briefly meeting mine, before settling on a spot near my shoulder, then my bare wrist. Ichigo notices and shifts, covering me from Byakuya's line of sight.

_Arigatou Ichigo. You really are a good friend for someone who I've just met. Even if you were so annoying that I had to throw a plate at you. Just like Kaien._

* * *

_Flashback_

_"_

_"Kuso, Kaien, what did you do?!" I wail, holding my nose. We are not alone in the classroom. There are eleven other students sitting in seiza, dipping their brushes into the ink pot and then touching it on the cloth-like paper. Their brush strokes are firm and long, and they do not drag their sleeve on the paper and smear the strokes the way I do._

_Kaien has had to help me hold the brush several times, re-adjusting the placement of my fingers. Nee-chan said I was going to exasperate Kaien-sensei to no end (but he tells me to call him Kaien because I stumble over saying the honorific) because I would change my grip when he took a few steps away. It is difficult to hold it "properly", and I don't feel the "control" that Kaien and Byakuya speak of._

_It had horrified Kaien the first day when he saw me sitting cross-legged on the floor, a strand of hair in my mouth and another sitting in the ink pot, brush held in a fist grip. It had horrified Byakuya too when he poked his head into the room for the first time, and saw me still sitting cross-legged, holding the brush handle with the tip of my fingers, flicking my wrist this way and that way, sending drops of ink flying everywhere. It had made Kaien laugh, because I had gotten much better by then._

_The only reason I let Nee-chan drag me to class is because no matter how terrible I do, Kaien never yells at me the way Byakuya does, or walks away exasperated like Nee-chan said he would one day. He is like the most proper grown-up I have in my life, because Nee-chan can be mean sometimes and Urahara makes what Soifon calls "inappropriate jokes for my age" and he does secret stuff so he's not around all the time._

_"Idiot," he says, offering me a handkerchief from his sleeve, "You mean 'what did I do'. You should've been more careful," he chides. Perhaps I could have waited for the excess ink to drip off my brush before I set it to paper, but I hadn't wanted to. Plus, it was his comment that made Hyouko-san sitting next to me laugh so loud that made me flick my wrist a little too hard at the sound._

_Hyouko-san's laughter is actually really freaky. It sounds like the tall one with a face mask who does those weird experiments with Urahara. I only know because I heard when I took a wrong turn once. Urahara had found me a few moments after, scooped me up in his arms, and brought me home. His stubble had scratched my forehead._

_I glower at the ground to avoid looking at the paper that must be covered with little droplets of black, like dried blood, and try in vain to wipe the ink off my nose with the back of my hand, "This is all your fault. And Nee-san particularly asked me to stay clean tonight..."_

_A few snickers reach my ears and I shoot a glare at everyone in general from the corner of my eye._

_Kaien shrugs, his eyes full of amusement, and if I was in a better mood I would ask him how was it that he could be so good-tempered all the time. Even Urahara who fooled around all day couldn't do that. "Well, on the bright side at least you didn't get your kimono dirty." Turing back to the other calligraphy students he says, "Alright, class dismissed. Have a wonderful day and don't forget to practice your..."_

_I tune him out and proceeded to pick up a basin from one of the smaller shelves pushed against the wall. Turning the tap to full blast, I fill it with water and add a random soap cube that is a pale-yellow colour into it. I inhale the scent of something sour, perhaps lemon. It'll be up to Kaien to figure out what he does if he runs out of soap, I think grudgingly, crushing the bar of soap so that it would dissolve faster. Stupid ink on my nose. I hold my breath and grip the basin with my two hands. Here I go, I count down from three, and lower my face in-_

_"Oi! What're you doing?!" says Kaien, grabbing a fistful of my hair and wrenching me out. The basin of water slips from my hands, balances precariously on the side before toppling over, soaking me from head to toe._

_"Kaien! -" I wail, with my eyes closed. It burns, lemon-scent filling the air, and I decide that I officially hate the scent of lemon._

_"What were you doing!" says Kaien, fishing out the pieces of soap with a pair of gloves, "This is used on wound cleansing. It's suppose to eat away at the flesh until-arg, nevermind. It's not suppose to be used on your face you-"_

_"Kaien!" I say, and I can feel my bottom lip trembling but can't find myself to care about anything more than the burning sensation spreading on me. Tears stream down my face uncontrollably, and the parts they touch don't burn as much, "Kaien..my face burns..and" I hiccup, "It hurts..Kaien!" Kuso. It hurts everywhere. I start to shake, and suddenly I don't want to open my eyes at all. A sudden reliatsu hits me, and the burning stops. I stand there, shocked. A few moments later, I open my eyes and find myself standing in front of Kaien who looked slightly peeved._

_"Darn it, Tatomi," he says shaking his head at me, "You're the only person in the Soul Society whom I know who paints their nose AND tries to burn themselves on the same day, you know."_

_Still soaking wet, I open my mouth to reply, when a different wave of reliatsu reaches where I was standing. Without thinking, I ran behind Kaien, and clutched his haori. He sighs in exasperation, "What now?" then he senses Byakuya's reliatsu as well and chuckles in amusement, "Well alright then," he says, and turns around to face the door, "You can hide here, just this once."_

_End of flashback_

* * *

"I came to retrieve my subordinate and Rukia," says Byakuya to Ichigo, responding to a question I did not hear, his eyes never leaving mine, "There has been a strange appearance in hollows. The once that have faced them that are not in Squad Four believe there is a pattern to their attacks, though their methods of attack are quite different. Head Captain Yamamoto wants you to come along too, in case your assistance is needed."

I shake my head, cutting off, I think, Ichigo's response, "Whatever your reason may be, you trespassed. This is private property, Kuchiki. You're not allowed to come in without telling us."

And Yokoso is yelling indignantly in my head, 'Don't lie, Mistress. Put an end to that terrible temper of yours already. Why don't you just admit you're glad to see him?"

I frown, 'He is a jerk. Why would I be happy to see him?'

'Mistress, you cannot lie to the one who has access to your innermost thoughts. I have forgiven him. Please, talk to him.'

'I am talking to him. You can hear us, can't you?!' I pause, and think bitterly, 'He broke you. And he didn't even say sorry. He achieved bankai without me, too. I can't forgive him for that.'

'You're the one that left him behind,' Yokoso reminds me gently, but I am not in a mood to listen to her gentle tone, 'You didn't give him a chance to.'

'Not you too! First Nee-chan, then you ...Why are you suddenly sticking up for him? Why aren't you taking my side?!'

'Because I-'

And I'm suddenly sick of hearing her complacent tone of voice in my head,' What'ver, I don't want to know.'

'But mistress, I've been trying to tell you that he has-' I cut her off, pushing her back into my inner world, where she apparently spends too much time soaking in my 'thoughts' anyways.

"Technically it is not trespassing," says Byakuya in a tone that bore a slight annoyance, "And you didn't answer my question yet, Tatomi." He ignores me switching to call him by his last name, in favor of pressing for an answer.

I huff, "It IS trespassing and you know it!"

"Coming to pick up my subordinate and Rukia from a place where Shinigamis pop up unannounced is not trespassing," he says steely, frowning deeper at me, "And you still haven't answered my question yet."

"…You're nothing to me, Kuchiki. I don't listen to what you say," I turned around with my back to him and refused to speak. Minutes ticked away.

* * *

"Uh so, Mr. Urahara how has the shop been?" Renji bellows out of nowhere. Three out of six people in the room blink, while two continue their glaring contest without batting an eye.

"Yeah, are Ururu and Tessai well?" says Ichigo, catching on to the fact that Renji is attempting to use small talk to diffuse the tension in the room.

"Yes!" beams Urahara, obviously joining in. Yoruichi sweatdrops at all their fake cheerfulness that was such an obvious attempt of vain to lighten the situation. "See here," says Urahara, fishing out a giant roll of receipts kept together with a thick rubber band from his pockets, damn his pockets are deep, "Look at all the sales we have been getting-"

"You can be such an idiot, you know that?!" shouts Byakuya, his hands clenching the hem of his sleeves, making Urahara almost drop his collection of receipts.

* * *

Ichigo doesn't know if he should be impressed or cry because Byakuya seemed to de-age twenty years right in front of his eye with those words.

Though he has been at the end of the noble's irritation and sword several times, he never had the honor of actually being yelled at and insulted in such a…childish way before. The noble was a man of few words, and lots of action. He would just pull out Senbonzakura instead, if it had been anyone else speaking to him this way, Ichigo thinks.

These two are freaking close, but their reunion here is super messed up...

* * *

I forget that I'm suppose to be ignoring him and whirl around. "I'M THE IDIOT?!" I yell right back at him, "I AM NOT-"

' _Now you two fall into the Koi pond and get drenched from head to toe. You guys resurface in sync and you try to climb out but then you nearly slip and facepalm the water gain while Byakuya sputters and starts wringing out his sleeves. Then_  you'-says my zanpakuto, and the unbidden memory flashes through my head.

'S _hut up, will you? There's no Koi pond here. And we are not friends,'_ I tell her, pushing the memory away. "I just don't want to answer your stupid question, okay?!" I say to Byakuya.

_'No, Tatomi, you're suppose to say, "At least I'm not a narcissist who-"'_

"A stupid question?!" He echoes, violet eyes breaking free from his icy trance, slightly buldging out "You were gone for so long and would'nt even come back because of me! You owe me an explanation! You can't freaking disappear in tears without telling me why? Contrary to popular opinion, I am not a mind reader. What did I do?!"

"What did you do?!" The words tumble out of my mouth like blind daggers, looking for the most tender blood pumping organ to gauge and rip into pieces, "YOU-"

'Mistress!'

I clap my hand over my mouth just in time.

'This is a highly inappropriate way to tell him! It is not his fault, and I forbid you to guilt trip your love this way!'

'He is not my love!' I take a deep breath, 'Dammit, I really nearly blurted it out, didn't I? What is wrong with me?"

"..." Byakuya glares at me, expecting me to continue, but I don't. "Well? Still so childish, Tatomi? Finish your thought there. I did—what?"

I inhale, unable to meet his eyes, so I look at the Kenseikens on his hair instead, one, two, three, "…Nothing.."

"Don't lie, Tatomi," says Nee-san, intervening this time, "Just spit it out so that we can all get back on with our lives. It is not good for you nor fair to Bya-bo for holding this in when it evidently concerns the two of you."

"I said. Nothing," I am on my feet in a second, and proceed to stalk out of the room. I walk too slow past Byakuya, and his hand darts out to grab me by the arm. I try to twist out of his grip, but he only tightens his fingers. When did he get so strong?

"Tatomi.." his wrist twitches, and I duck my head away from the pinch he'd always give me whenever one of us won an argument.

"Just let go of me, Kuchiki!" I yell, both fury and something else surging into me, "I wish I had never ran in and saved Renji; just so I wouldn't have to see you again!"

' _Tatomi! Apologize!'_

I ignore Yosoko and rush past him, and run upstairs.

A thunderclap's heard, and it starts pouring outside.

* * *

Byakuya stares after her retreating figure, shock seeping into him. Her scent was still the same, her skin cool against his. Her body temperature had always been lower than his, hence the many times she had wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face on the back of his yukata, at the spot in between his shoulder blades, and claimed that he was like a furnace. Had it truly been so long ago, and her memories of them together so faint that a single argument from the distant past changed the way she saw him.

No. If Byakuya is sure of one thing, it is that there was something more to it, that she did not talk about. It is why he kept pushing, pushing even though he had heard the ugly turn in the argument between her and Renji, the insults and taunts she would throw when she was backed up against a wall that wouldn't budge or break. She was terrible at saying what she truly wanted, and perhaps that was one thing about her that hadn't changed. It had been one of the reasons why Byakuya made it a personal goal to read people much better.

The switch from 'Byakuya' when he was not around to 'Kuchiki' made his chest ache. ' _It has been many years,' Byakuya reminds himself, 'Keep a cool head, and remember to be logical. Perhaps she truly does not wish to speak to you anymore. Perhaps she was disgusted with how you shoved her away with your bare hands like a hooligan. A proper noble would not—but she never cared about this sort of thing before.'_

 _'Master',_ says Senbonzakura, _'Yokoso has just spoke to me, and says she apologizes for her mistress's behaviour. Her zanpakuto, that is.'_

_'Arigatou, Senbonzakura,' Byakuya closes his eyes, 'It is meaningless, however, for Tatomi herself was sincere. Coming here was a mistake.'_

He takes a moment to regain my cool composure, and turn back to everyone else. It is surprisingly easy to put a lid on the simmering feelings inside him once she is gone from the room they are in, "Let's go, Renji."

"But-" Renji stares, "What about Tato-"

Do not remind him, Renji. Byakuya put a lid on that too, and shakes his head, "She has made herself clear. I will not intrude. Let's go."

"Why not stay for the night?" says Urahara. Byakuya open my mouth to reject, but he continues, "I'd like to observe Mr. Abarai for one more night, to make sure he's fully recovered, and it's raining outside. In the morning I can make sure Rukia comes here and then you guys can leave. You won't be intruding, not at all."

If it is fate for him to stay, he will concede to doing so. "Very well."

* * *

I swing the door close, pausing at the last moment to slow it to a gentle glide. It closes with a click, and I slide down onto the floor, burying my face into my hands.

'Misistress!' Yokoso is still reprimanding me, 'Do you realize—'

It is annoying. I do not need a reminder of what happened on the floor below. I sniff, my nose became congested somewhere during all the chaos, 'I don't care. I just want this day to be over.'

'You idiot, don't wish for things you don't want. This was your last chance to make it up to him!'

'I don't care!' I can feel my eyes sting, and I squeeze them shut. I am just upset, I think, from arguing with so many people in one day. Anyone would be.

'Don't lie, you do care. You think about him every so often. I'm your zanpakuto, even if I'm broken I can still feel you when you want to apologize. Darn you and your pride, if you don't go now, he'll be gone very soon. You'll never see him again.'

'What do you mean, never? Of course I will!' My heartbeat quickens anyways, and a sudden flash of panic runs through me. 'He can't be leaving, not so soon! Not now, not when we still haven't done anything other than yell at each other. I missed him so much, he can't—oh.'

Yokoso sighs, 'Go.'

'But...'

'He's staying tonight. In the room two doors down from yours. Go.'

'What should I say?'

'Whatever you think you should say.'

'Okay, but are you alright with it?'

'Don't worry about me. Now go.'

...I hiccup wipe away the tears. Standing up on my two feet, my legs start to shake. What if he's angry? What if it's too late to-

'Mistress, if you do not have the courage to approach the one you have been wishing to see, then you are not the person you use to be.'

Yokoso's words are not gentle, but they don't need to be. I am not the person I use to be, nor do I wish to be a person to be afraid to after the things I want.

Masking my reliatsu, I walk down the halls, counting the doors, and gently push open the one Yokoso said he would be in. Peeking through the slight gap, I see Byakuya sitting with his back to me, staring out the window. Byakuya...

I take a deep breath and step in, closing the door behind me so I wouldn't run.

 

"..Byakuya.." Standing up on my two feet, my legs start to shake. What if he's angry? _What if it's too late to-_  Yokoso's parting words play, unbidden,  '..then you are not the person you use to be'. It resonates with honesty--I no longer spill ink over my clothes, nor trip over my own feet. The former was due to the discovery of plastic ink pens, the latter to several near-death situations after leaving the Soul Society. The sight of the Shinigami uniform shihakusho does not spontaneously draw up the memory of Byakuya's father's dead body, and Urahara is always a few feet away when I look around for Nee-chan. There are some things that haven't changed, though. The dragonfruit that Nee-chan brings during nights when I sat stargazing on the roof never failed to bring a smile to my face. Yokoso says I still ask too many questions, though in my head instead of out loud. Nee-chan says it is not good to bottle it up, but I have found it is better to ensnare and prob my thoughts with tendrils of 'what-ifs', 'maybe's, theories, lemmas, and consequences than vomit them out and have other people worry. Worry--wait, I was worried about something. No, worried is not the right word, maybe...upset?

Byakuya's brush stroke has stopped, probably for sometime. His back is ramrod straight, and his eyes are focused on the scroll in front of him. There is a flash of lightning, and the sheathed Senbonzakura on his hip lights up.

My muscles spasm in a flinch. 

"Byakuya." I swallow. His name sounded terrible coming out from my throat. It was hoarse and scratchy, as if I had not said that word for a long time. Which was not true--I have--just, well, not aloud. I clear my throat, and try again. "Byakuya, um," my voice trails off pathetically, and my hand reaches for the door knob. Where do I start? The obvious answer is from the beginning, but what is the definition of beginning anyways, if life is a circle? If these years were a cycle of silences, surely this, right here, is the beginning. The beginning is when the silence was first broken.

He has not made an attempt to speak to me since my entrance. Perhaps he is angry, but the thought of his anger does not strike fear in me like I thought it would, but rather guilt. Shame. I should not have used trespassing as a petty reason to goad him into arguing, when I knew that Shinigamis often come and go in Urahara's shop. When he did not take the bait, I should not have raised my voice at him so, telling him I do not wish to see him again. For, if not for his competency and strong reliatsu, I would have followed him on his missions in the real world just to be able to see him. I had left when I knew he would be involved with the battle against Aizen without a doubt, to not accidentally reveal myself for I would do so if I had seen him then, hurt. I would never share with him the fate of my zanpakuto, or how it became broken, because he would, without a doubt, blame himself the same way he did for his fathers death or almost losing his sister. Yet I almost did. 

I take a breath, and tighten my fingers around the knob. I close my eyes and breathe in sharply, counting from one to four. I hold it for three seconds, and breathe out for five. I loosen my grip on the door, "I...back in the room...I lost my temper. I'm sorry." What kind of stupid, pathetic apology was that? I squeeze my eyes shut,  _Please don't be mad, please don't be mad, pleas don't be-what am I even saying? Of course he's mad! Even I am mad at myself. If Byakuya wasn't, then that would mean he doesn't even care about me anymore, and probably hasn't for a long time, which can't be true because I-_

"Okay," he says quietly, slicing through my thoughts like a frozen butter knife. Smooth, seemingly harmless, but making a cut nevertheless. 

My eyes fly open with shock.l What? He tilts his chin down, and his brush strokes started again. They glide across the page slowly and purposefully, and his hands are steady, "Why are you not retiring?"

Um, what? Byakuya, I don't think I understand. What is going on, why are you giving me the cold shoulder? Stop being passive-aggressive, that's suppose to be me. Stop acting like you don't care, there's no way you don't care. There I was in my room crying when I was the one who said such terrible things and you, you cannot be sitting here all composed if you cared at least one iota about me. "I said I'm sorry-"

He cuts me off cleanly without pausing his calligraphy, "You are repeating yourself. I have heard what you _needed_ to say."

Though there is no tremble, no spark of anger in him to hint that he feels any differently than what he says, I don't buy it for a minute. But I need to base my resolves on something concrete for this to work, for me to not lose my nerve, turn the knob, leave, and never see him again. I draw on the ache in my chest, the dried tears stained on the back of my hands, and plow through, "Darn it Byakuya, can't you see I'm trying to apologize?!" Ah great, anger had to come out first. Damn my mouth sometimes.

The sound of bamboo snapping fills the silence, and some small pieces hit my cheek. The remnants of Byakuya's brush dangle from his fingers, and he drops them on the table with a clack. "I do not accept an apology that was forced from your own lips." There's an edge to his voice when he says that.

"That wasn't--Darn it, Byakuya, this is not some stupid apology that I'm being forced to say!" Though his own voice is still mostly soft and monotone, mine skips steps while climbing octaves. My fingers have tightened around the doorknob again, and I am tempted to throw my hands up in the air. Yet another display of anger, instead of focusing on what I wanted to say, like how I am hurting too, and that I'm sorry I hurt him, and that maybe I just don't want to hurt him anymore. Why does this always happen?!

Byakuya's voice rises too, "Then why are you leaning against the door as if you are going to bolt out any second, as if you do not wish to be in the same room as me at all?" 

"That is not how I feel!" My breath hitches and my voice cracks. I don't know why my face just crumples and dies and suddenly my eyes are stinging and I cup my hands in front of my face, not wanting him to see my tears. "Byakuya, I said I..." my voice quavers and a tear escapes through the gap in my fingers, and drops onto the floor. My breath hitches again, and I tiptoe over to where he's sitting, stopping when my knee brushes against the cloth covering his upper thigh. "I'm...sorry.." I say tentatively.

Silence fills the room as I remind myself to breathe in through my nose, and try to compose myself. My sobs quieten, and my tears stop. 

Byakuya picks up a discarded shard of bamboo, and weaves it through his fingers. "I first heard the news of your disappearance when I came out of the hospital," says Byakuya, his voice no more than a faint whisper, "Masumoto-san had looked quite distressed, and left without an explanation after I told her I had not spoken to you for two weeks. I thought nothing more than that you were still angry and were tricking me into apologizing to you," he pauses briefly. 

I don't move. We were both children, and his reaction likely would have been mine, had our roles been reversed.

Byakuya continues, "Later, Grandfather explained to me that Urahara and Yoruichi, along with the other Shinigamis, had fled to escape being punished for treason, but you were not a shinigami, and I thought maybe you had holed yourself up in the Shihoine manor because you were upset. When you didn't return to our place by the koi pond, I concluded that you didn't want anything to do with me. By then I knew I had hurt you with my terrible bedside manners. However, when I went to seek you out, a daughter of one of the maids told me no one knew where you were, but it was likely that Yoruichi had taken you with them. Later, you were declared a traitor as well." 

Here, Byakuya closes his eyes for a bit, then opens them. What he is remembering, I do not know. "I promised myself I will apologize to you when you decided to show yourself. I would seek you out myself once I was assigned a mission in the world of the living. But," his Adam's apple shifts, "they all came back when I almost lost Rukia; Yoruichi was there, Urahara as well. And at the end of it all, when Aizen was put into prison, I looked around at all the old faces, and some new," he drops the stick and buries his face into his hands, "...and realized you weren't there. And I thought, you must have not made it. From the very beginning, who knew for how long, you were already gone, and no one had bothered to tell me."

Oh my god. "Byakuya..." I reach out, and rest a hand against his shoulder. 

I slide my other hand around his chin, and turn his face to face mine. His violet eyes are a swirl of different emotions, pain, terror, guilt, and other things too entangled to distinguish.

"You idiot. You are an absolute idiot," I say softly, my lips turning upwards in a smile. My thumb brushes over his clean-shaven jaw, "I would never die that quickly."

His eyes turned from pain to steel. Evidently he was not amused.

I withdraw my hands and fold them behind my back. I lowered my eyes to the imaginary lint on his shoulder"Um, well," I lift my head to meet his eyes, "I don't...you don't have to forgive me. Or believe me as a matter of fact, but..I am glad I got to see you again, Byakuya. And I should not have tried to make you go away." And my eyes don't make sense anymore because they are stinging again. This time, I am determined not to let him see my tears. It is time to head back to the four walls of my room, curl up with my blanket, enter my inner world, and bawl there. "Goodnight, Byakuya."

Byakuya's arm wraps around my knees, and his right hand grips my hips. He swings me onto his lap and pulls me into a hug in one fluid motion.  My nose is filled with his cherry blossom scent mixed with the salt of sweat and it feels really good when his warmth seeps into me from all directions. "Goodnight, Tatomi."

My eyes widen, and my fingers curl around the fabric of his Shihakusho. I never thought I missed hearing him say my name, but no one has a voice quite as baritone as Byakuya. I'm momentarily blinded as my tears escape from my eyes. It started as a trickle, then turned into a steady pour of salt streams down my cheeks.  My body starts to shake as I bury my face into his chest, trying to muffle my sobs. He holds me tighter.

"...I...I really missed you...Byakuya," I said, burying my face into his Shihakusho. I know he hasn't said he forgives me, and right now, I don't think I would accept his forgiveness even if he did. But having him listen, being able to talk with him like this is more than I deserve. His uniform is warm even when wet--oh no. I push myself away and stare at the damp patch in dismay. What would his subordinates think if they saw him like this? Especially the red-headed pineapple Shinigami who practically adores Byakuya and in front of whom I yelled at Byakuya-- "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to--"

Byakuya--Byakuya _smirks_ and pinches my nose. When he lets go, I twitch my nose around a few times--who knew that it had gotten so stiff in these eyars. "What do you have to be sorry for? This is nothing new," His violet eyes hold a glint of amusement, "Since when have you not made my clothes wet?"

I am not sure if he is referring to other times I have cried on him, spilled ink on him, or the time we fell into the pond. "It wasn't not my fault!"

Byakuya doesn't let me get away with saying that. His face goes blank, and he raises an eyebrow, managing to look like a very confused noble, "Then, why did you apologize?"

I blink, and think for a moment but can't come up for a very good retort. I tsk, and slid out of his arms, "I've forgotten how annoying it is to argue with you," I tossed my hair back playfully, making sure he got a mouthful of my locks. When he splutters instead of closing down his face completely, I decide that this was probably as close as we would ever get after not seeing each other for a decade, "Well, at least you stopped calling Nee-san 'Were-cat'" I smile, but it turns into a wide yawn.

Byakuya simply raises an eyebrow and stands. He walks to the door, "Goodnight."

I follow him over, open the door, and pause. Counting to three, I turn back attack him with a quick hug, "Goodnight!" I let go and wretch the door close before I can see his reaction. 

I stepped out into the now dark hall quietly, feeling my way around the wall, back to my room. I count my steps, feeling both lighter and heavier. The heaviness is due to being tired, and also due to, perhaps, my reunion with Byakuya not going as well as I had hoped. Which didn't make any sense--hadn't it gone better than I had hoped? There were no additional yelling, and we had even hugged to make up. We were also very civilized. So what had I been hoping for? We weren't children anymore, it wasn't like we were going to chase each other around the room, or that I was going to lean against his back and watch him finish his calligraphy. Plus, his brush was already broken, and he probably didn't bring extras with him on missions.

Unless...maybe he could use Senbonzakura as one, if he was very light and careful. Would that stain his zanpakuto? Can ink even stain metal?

Something muscular hits my shoulder, then the rest of my body. I am falling, and a hand claps over my mouth before my scream escapes from my throat. Familiar reliatsu embraces me, and the dark seems to twist before I hit the ground. I am released when my feet touch solid ground. The light flickers on. Nee-san is standing in front of me in the kitchen, with a gin on her face. Her ponytail is gone, and her dark purple hair drifts past her hips.

"Well?" says Nee-san with a hand on her hips, "Did you two make up? No more yelling, broken plates, and moodiness?"

I cannot believe my cousin sometimes. Well, she is practically like an older sister, but really. Could this not wait until the morning, where I wouldn't be freezing in the cold kitchen? That grin of hers in the middle of the night meant she wanted something. 

"Nee-san, don't wake everyone up!" I yell-whisper, folding my arms around my chest, "Why did you drag me here? It's the middle of the night. If you wanted warm milk you could have asked Urahara--"

"--Kisuke," Nee-san says. She has been trying to make me call him Kisuke since we came here, but I am still not use to it. Partially because Urahara always smiles with his teeth when I say it. 

Wait, wait, wait. "Um, did you ask me a question?" 

Below the yellow kitchen light, Nee-san throws back her head and laughs," Aw, Tatomi and Bya-bo are back together again! Wonderful! Nee-san is so proud of you two. Now we can all go back to Soul Society and announce your engagement to your friends!"

Wait, what? I don't know how Nee-san's thoughts are strung together sometimes. Her words, for some reason, open up a floodgate of 'What if Byakuya and you did get together' and that ranged from weird, jumpy feelings to confusion because I honestly don't know how our interaction would be any different--I can't see myself calling him Byakuya-sama, and he'd probably laugh at me if I did, or him calling me some pet name like babe, which is what Urahara calls Nee-san sometimes. Abort.

I close that floodgate and open my mouth to tell Nee-san that she is completely wrong, but she chooses that moment to squeeze me into a tight hug. "We have got to start packing. I am such a proud Nee-san!" she whispers loudly into my ear. 

I shake my head fervently and try to squirm out of the hug, "It's not like that, Nee-san. We are just friends. Just friends. Maybe. Newly friends again."

Nee-san hums and looks at me thoughtfully. "If you say so. You never know. Anyways, you don't have any good reason to refuse to come with us back to the Soul Society this time, so we will go together, all of us, back for a short, impromptu visit. If Byakuya thought you died, how many other friends think you're deceased?"

I can't believe Nee-san had been listening to our conversation. But if she was, she should know that Byakuya and I are just friends. Our newly established re-friendship, thought that is not a word, is still shaky. I wonder if Byakuya would revert back to his stoic ways tomorrow, when tears would no longer be streaming down my face. Would I still have a friendly banter with him, or be polite and civilized in front of him and his subordinate? Either ways, it wouldn't matter because we wouldn't see each other very often in the future anyways, with me being here and him being back there.

Going back with her now would just make it more painful by the time I came back here and left everyone behind. I would still, of course, have Nee-san and Urahara with me, and I wouldn't give them up for the world, but it wouldn't be the same. I shake my head, "I'm not coming with you guys." Nee-san raises her eyebrow questioningly. I look down and pretend to study the wooden boards on the floor, "You'll need someone to look after the shop while you're gone."

"You don't need to do that. Ururu and Jinta are staying. So's Tessai. That's more than enough people here. Come." Nee-san's voice is surprisingly soft.

I bite my lip, and shake my head again. Negative.

Nee-san reaches out and tiltes up my chin with her hand, forcing me to look her in the eye, "You really don't want to come with us."

For what I hope will be the last time tonight, my eyes brim with unshed tears for a reason beyond me. "I'll say goodbye and everything," I say, "But...I'm not coming."

She looks at me quietly, "Will you tell me why?"

I can't. I can't because I will cry, and you will call me stupid. I step back from her, "'Night, Nee-san." I turn around and leave without looking back. I hear Nee-san's voice wishing me a good night as well.

'Byakuya and I are friends again', I think, walking back to my room, 'and I'm happy, I really am. So why do I feel like there's this big hole in my heart?'

'If I told you, you wouldn't believe me', says Yokoso.

'That's only because all of your suggestions are absurd.' I opened the door to my bedroom, 'Goodnight to you too, Yokoso.'

Yoruichi stares after Tatomi's retreating form and frowns. She remembers too clearly the lonely air around Tatomi when she would escape to the roof and look at the stars. What she was looking for, Yoruichi could only guess. Yoruichi also wasn't blind. If Tatomi didn't realize what it was that she truly wanted, then Yoruichi would just have to give her the opportunity to discover it fore herself. Then Yoruichi smiles, as a plan starts to form in her mind. Perfect. 

* * *

**TATOMI'S POV**

I blink a few times for my eyes to adjust to the sunlight. Yawning, I rub my eyes as yesterday's event's came flooding back to me. _Byakuya..._ I jump off the bed and trip over something, and nearlly fall head first onto the floor. My last-minute reflexes saved me. Kind of. I look up again and realize with a jolt of suprise that everything seemed 5 times bigger, as if they had grown overnight...Okay then...

Taking a few unsteady steps forward with my four paws _-wait, did I just say paws?_ I look down and realize that I. Was. In. My. Cat. Form. WHAT?! I frowned, and closed my eyes, trying to turn back. I opened my eyes and found myself still in my cat form. No luck in being a human again, eh?

"Great," I said out loud, but what came out instead was a meow. Okay, this was really irritating. _What was going on?! First I'm stuck in my cat form, AND NOW I CAN'T EVEN TALK._

Hearing my bedroom door creak open, I turned around. A hand scooped me up before I could protest, and I instantly recognized the scent of Nee-san. I'm stuck in Yoruichi's embrace as she bounds to the basement, where Byakuya, Renji, Urahara, Ichigo and Rukia were gathered, probably gathering to go. _Wait a minute, surely I wasn't going to be brought along too-_

"Good," says Ichigo, "Finally we can go."

"Wait," Urahara looks around with a sappy sad look, "Isn't Tatomi going to come and say goodbye to me?"

Nee-san shrugs, "I dunno. She's probably on her morning stroll or something. Ichigo's right, we should go, she's gonna come back here later."

No! I wanted to say, I'm right here! And since when do I go on morning strolls, anyway?! But what came out instead was a series of meows...

"Aw..." says Renji, and to my annoyance he starts petting me, "Such a cute kitty! Cute cute kitty! Can I kiss you on the nose, little kitty?" I instantly hiss at him and swipe at his hand with an unsheathed claw. "Whoa, kitty, easy there!" Ichigo laughs and Renji shoots him a dark look.

I continue to glare at the Red-pineapple-head as Nee-san pulls me away. "Bad kitty," she says, and waved a finger at me in disapproval.

A senkeimon gate opens, and catches me off guard. Next thing I know, I, along with everyone else goes in. NOooo! I try in vain to run back, but Nee-san's keeping a tight grip on my tail. Moments later, we enter the Soul Society, and are greeted by a group of Shinigamis. _This was so not happening..._ I licked my paw and smoothed my fur. Maybe it was a good thing that I was in my cat form. At this rate, no one recognizes me..

A sudden breeze ruffles my fur, and I hear a roaring sound. I'm flying through the air, and I land with a soft thud into someone's arms. This scent was also one that I knew very well.

I stare up, and my own bewildered eyes meet Byakuya's suprised ones. I swear I heard a quiet chuckle escape from where Nee-san was standing.


	4. (Literally) in your care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Your expressions are amusing_   
>  _Even when you're angry_   
>  _The way your mouth moves is kind of cute_   
>  _The words you say keep me wide awake_   
>  _You inspire the colours in my world_   
>  _It doesn't feel like tolerating each other_   
>  _When our enjoyment shines through._

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

_I stare up, and my own bewieldered eyes meet Byakuya's suprised ones. I swear I heard a quiet chuckle escape from where Nee-san was standing._

Tch, did Nee-san just throw me at Byakuya?! My fur spikes up with idignancy at the very thought. I turn my head and gave Nee-san a scathing look. _Why oh why did she do this? Didn't I already tell her I didn't want to go back to the soul society yet?!_ _Stupid Nee-san...never_ _listening to what I say..._ Nee-san returns my scathing look with her stern one, then she turns to Byakuya with a smile, "Bya-bo, take care of this kitty for me while we're here, 'kay?"

_What?! Nee-san! We already made up, didn't I tell you?_

"...This kitten is not mine, Yoruichi Shihoin," says Byakuya. He picks me up by the tail and dangles me in the air, "Nor is it my responsibility. "

I yowl in pain and squirm, failing my paws around in the air, wishing he'd _just let go of my tail_. Thanks to my efforts, I start to swing in the air like a pendulum. Great. My stomach starts to churn and I clamp my jaws shut, hoping to prevent myself from throwing up my dinner from last night.

"Bya-bo, onegai (please)!" Yoruichi looks up at him with imploring golden eyes, "Please! I know how, er, gentle you can be. Plus, kitty will have more fun hanging out and meeting new people rather than following me around. " _Liar._

Byakuya narrowed his eyes and sighed at the lame piece of flattering coming out of Nee-san's mouth, while I continued to swing back and forth.

Nee-san grins, "Unless if you were hoping to spend this time to shunpo with me?"

"I'm a captain, Yoruichi. I doubt the kitty would be pleased if I take it-"

"- _her:_ she's not an object-"

"- _her_ on a mission of mine. If I get sent, that is."

Yoruichi shruggs, "Leave her with Renji then. He's your subordinate."

"I do not want my office destroyed. why can't you just take care of it yourself?" says Byakuya calmly.

"I-"

I squeezed me eyes shut, "Why don't you just stop trying to give air sickeness or what'ver this is called?!" I screeched. It came out as a series of ear-piercing meows, but both Nee-san and Byakuya got the message.

Byakuya stops and sets me carefully down onto his arm, at the same time Nee-san tries to whip his face with her long ponytail, "Bya-bo, you're suppose to be kind and gentle with the kitty!" Byakuya shoots her a dirty look, but Nee-san waves it aside," You're out of practice, Bya-bo. Taking care of kitty will help you develope and improve your hospitality skills."

Byakuya opened his mouth to argue, but Yoruichi beats him to it, "Plus, kitty is very nice, aren't you, kitty?" she says, petting my head, which sends the world swirling around me again. I sigh in relief when she stops and rest my chin onto Byakuya, waiting for the world around me to stop spinning. Again. Even if this was a Shihakusho, it was Byakuya's, and it was really really soft...

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

"..." I feel myself soften a bit-not that I'd admit it, as the kitty starts snuggling into my Shihakusho, momentarily reminding me of Tatomi. Even if we had made up, it still felt as if we weren't like before. I had hoped to get to spend time just to...just to talk to her again, and, it was kind of amusing to hear her argue with Abarai.

"Oi, Taicho, I think, er," I look up and see Renji scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "The kitty might've fallen asleep...eh..."

I stare at the kitty, whom had a rather peaceful expression on its face, and realized that it's breathing was steady, a sign that it was indeed asleep.

"Oh pleaseeeeeee Bya-bo?" says Yoruichi again.

I sigh in resignation, "...Very well, as long as it does not cause any trouble."

"Yay!" Yoruichi pumps her fist in the air, "Thanks, Bya-bo! I knew you would cave in eventually!" I open my mouth to reply, feeling an anger vein appearing on my forehead, but she grabs Ichigo and Urahara, and they shunpo away, leaving me, Rukia and Renji staring at the kitty sleeping in my arms.

"..."

* * *

**TATOMI'S POV**

I blink open my eyes and wiggle out of the soft blankets that had been wrapped around me. Where was I? Then I recognize the decor, and the vaste amount of space in this room I was in. Nee-san's pleas to Byakuya flooded back to me and I flopped onto the blankets. _Wonderful. This was, without a doubt, the Kuchiki manor._

"Hi kitty, are you awake?"

I blink open my eyes and a pair of large purple eyes meet mine, and I jump back in suprise and fall off the little basket-bed that I had apparently been sleeping in. The blankets fly into the air and land on me one by one. Could this day- or afternoon should I say, get any worse? Someone pries them off of me, and peers at me closely. Rukia.

"Are you hurt? Sorry I startled you," then her expression changes, "Kya!" I duck as Rukia tries to pet me, "You're so cute! Hee hee," then she pauses and gets up, extending an arm out to me, "You hungry?"

My stomach grumples in response, and I leap onto her arm. She laughs and I nudge her chin in delight. _Rukia...you haven't changed. Just please don't feed me cat food-( Koi fish...) Ah shut up! Are we going to go through the whole falling into the Koi pond scene again?! (Maybe...)_

* * *

I'm following Rukia through the twists and turns, when she pauses suddenly and I smash my nose. Ow. Rukia turns around and holds up something glittery, and was red like a fire engine. My eye twitched in annoyance, I hated that neon red. Abhore. Hated. What'ver you want to call it.

"I almost forgot!" she says, bending down, "You're sooooo cute little kitty! Lets give you a little ornament right ontop of your head. Chappy has one just like yours, see?" I shake my head and lean away from the ornament. No luck, Rukia puts it on me anyways. Tch. She pets me on the head and gets up again, "Now Chappy's happy, aren't you chappy? Kitty and Chappy are going to be great friends! Do you want to have a friend, Chappy?"

I raise a paw, about to continue to follow Rukia when my nose twitches. This scent... (It's wonderful, isn't it?) _Huh?_ My stomach grumbled. (Aren't you hungry? You didn't even eat breakfast...) _Meh, they'll probably feed me._ (Feed you what? Cat food?) _..._ (C'mon, lets go visit the pond again.) _Why?_ (Aren't you hungry?) _Well yeah, but_ (Then lets go and eat something!) _What's there to eat? Pond leaves?_ (Better than that. There should be something there. Don't you recognize that sweet aroma of-oops, better not reveal it yet. Just follow me.) _Tch, fine. Not like I wanna starve anyways._ (YAY! LETS GO EAT KOI FISH!) _What?! Is that what you had in mind?!_

My body turns and start walking towards the screen door that led to the pond. Rukia keeps on walking ahead, too distracted with her chat with Chappy to notice. Well, I guess it really didn't matter. Plus, I was hungry. What were the odds that I was going to get fed, anyways? Well...Byakuya would probably make sure-but still. Fresh fish would taste better, wouldn't it?

I pause beside the pond, seeing the Koi fishes clear as day, swimming around. _So pretty...(_ So tasty too...) I settle down on a rock, curling my tail over my back legs as to not get in the way.

Patience. One thing I'd probably never have...when I'm hungry, that is. My back legs bunched up, and I felt the need to just jump in the pond and scoop up the Koi that seemed so annoyingly close.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_Four._

_Five._

_Six._

_Seven..._

_Eight._

_Nine._

_Ten._

I open my eyes and sigh with satisfaction. Good. The Koi fish were swimming closer. Ten more seconds should be sufficient, right?

_One._

_Two..._

_Three..._

_Four..._

_Five.._

_Six..._

_Seven..._

_Eight...I could almost taste the Koi fish now.._

_Nine._

_Ten._

I open my eyes, _Here I go._

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

What is taking so long? I wondered, staring at my tea, waiting patiently for Rukia to arrive at the breakfast table. I lay down the reports that I was going through. I need to remind Renji to write specifically next time...I set down my cup of tea.

"Have you finished your breakfast, Kuchiki-sama?"

I nod absentmindedly, "Please clear the table later. I wish to talk to Rukia while she eats."

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama."

I stare outside at the sakura petals, and let my mind wander for a moment.

 _I wonder how Tatomi is..I'm glad we're finally friends again...but..I feel like...what's the word_ \- _Different?_ _SenbonZakura. Listening to my thoughts?_ _...Master..I'm simply concerned._ _..._ _*sigh* Your friendship has been mended, has it not?_ _Well, yes. Then it's all good, isn't it?_ _It feels different from before, as if there's still an invisible wall separating us._ _...It's been a long time, master,_ says SenbonZakura quietly, Y _ou don't know her as well as you use to. That's all. Unless..._ _Unless?_ _Unless your friendship has always been beyond friendship, and now you are-_ _You talk too much, SenbonZakura._ Something flickers into my mind. _Thats right. She still hasn't answered. She still hasn't answered my question...is she...hiding something?_

"...And you're just going to love spending time with Kitty!" Rukia's voice reaches me, and I look up to see her enter, bouncing up and down, with her very adorable bunny. At least someone's happy about having a temporary guest... "Ni-sama!" she says with a bright smile, "We're here!" Then she sees that I've already finished my breakfast, "Ah, gomenasai, Ni-sama. I didn't realize we took so long-"

"It's fine," I pause, and discreetly peer behind her, but no ball of white fur peeks out. _..huh.._ "Where's the kitten?"

"Oh! She's right here-" Rukia pauses, blinking rapidly at the emptiness behind her, her eyes wide with suprise, "Oh no...

".." Something felt familiar, but I couldn't grasp it., "When was the last time you saw her?"

"In...in the large room that led out to the gardens and Koi pond, Ni-sama," says Rukia. She looks down on the floor, crestfallen.

I put a hand on her head in ressurance, "Don't worry. I have a feeling that I know exactly where she is."

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I dip my paw in the water and scooped up the Koi. Something wraps around my paw, and my eyes widen in suprise.

"You probably shouldn't do that."

I jump in fright, and lost my balance. Failing around in the air, I noticed the 'thing' wrapped around my paw dissappeared. Whomever that was, they were not getting away with it. I hook my claw onto the tip of the 'thing' (which was actually someone's tail), and I pulled whomever it was down with me into the pond.

_Not again._

I choke on the icy cold water, the weight of whatever that was still stuck on my head pulling me down. Note to self: the Koi pond is, in fact, very deep when one is a cat. Kuso, I kicked my legs, trying to swim 'up', wherever that was. I felt something dark faraway stretching out towards me. Then something latches onto my scruff, and I'm pulled up by a set of strong jaws. My head breaks through the water, and I fall onto the grass, gasping for air. I catch a quick glimpse of my savoir, a sleek black cat with golden eyes, before it vanishes from sight. I sat up groggly and shake my head to clear out the water. _Was that Nee-san?_

"There you are."

Kuso. I was caught. I look up to see Byakuya towering over me, his violet eyes in slits, with a dash of annoyance spilling out of his expressionless mask now and then.

His eyes drift over to something on my head, and he tugs at it roughly. I yelp in pain, but he pretends he doesn't hear. After a few painful tugs, it's off. "What is this?" my heart sinks a bit when I see him hold up the neon red hair ornament, that was drenched. I took a few steps back-carefully to avoid falling into the pond for the 3rd time-feeling like a kid getting scolded. "You went playing in the water!" I jump at his sudden change of tone, from cold to harsh. A breeze comes by and I shiver a little.

~~**BAYKUYA'S POV** ~~

I felt my frustration boil over me, and it grows as I see it shiver. A flare of anger, frustration, and something else flows through me as it sneezes, "Idiotic cat. Now do you know why you don't go and play in the water?!" It sneezes again in response.

Hmph. I turn to a servant whom was standing meekly behind me, "Go inside and get a towel," I pause, "A large and soft one, if possible." He nods and leaves. I turn back and face the kitten, who was still shivering on the grass. _At this rate, it was going to get sick. What was taking that servant so long?_ _You're not being fair,_ reasons the patient part of me, _barely 2 seconds has passed._ My frown deepens as I see the kitten shiver again. I take of my captain haori and throw it at the kitten, "Dry yourself."

My haori falls over it, and the kitten dissappears under the white 'blanket'. I wait for a moment, observing the constant motion of my haori, before finally realizing that it was possible that the kitten had gotten stuck. _This was so annoying..._ I bend down and take hold of my haori, and start drying the kitten whom was still stuck inside. It shivers, and I feel its trembles through the haori. _You're going to get scolded later, master._ _Better than the kitten getting sick._ It squirms and tries to wiggle away, but I hold it tight with one hand, and continue to dry it with the other. _A captain's haori is simply cheap material..._

"Taichou!"

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I finally successfully escape, and crawl out of the tent made from Byakuya's haori. Stupid Byakuya, didn't I tell him I don't get sick easily?! It was too late now, his haori was already wet... "Idiot," I meow.

"Taichou!"

I whip my head around, and see Red-pineapple head standing a few feet away from us. He's holding a wooden kantana, resting on his shoulder. Always trying to look cool, I see... Byakuya straightens up, "Is something the matter, Renji?"

"Er, well," Renji rubs the back of his neck, "It's mid afternnon, and um, yesterday you did promise everyone you'd come to see how they're progressing and all. Our subordinates have been training very hard in the morning."

Byakuya nods, "Very well. We should get going then."

I meow impatiently and thump my tail on the grass. Idiots, did they forget about my breakfast?

That's when Renji actually looks around his surroundings, and sees the soaking wet haori Byakuya was holding, and me. "What happened?"

Byakuya closes his eyes, "The kitten was misbehaving." I open my mouth to say that I was, in fact, trying to catch my breakfast, but he silences me with a look. "Lets go." They turned around and took a few steps forward, but I stayed where I was. "You too, kitten." I stayed where I was, waiting. _C'mon, Byakuya, surely you know that I haven't ate my-_ "You've already wasted enough of my time, kitten," his voice has a sharp edge to it, "Lets go."

What?! Was he actually going to purposely starve me?!

"It's your fault for eating Koi for breakfast. Now," I yelp in suprise as Byakuya picks me up by my tail, "Lets go."

 _But I haven't ate yet!_ He takes a step forward, and shunpos with me in his hand. _This is all your fault, Nee-san..._ my stomach grumbles, _well, at least I'm not throwing up. And I didn't even eat any Koi. Stupid Nee-san made me fall before I could. Byakuya is such a baka..._

* * *

I'm set down onto the ground, beside Byakuya's haori. Violet eyes pierce mine, "Don't cause any trouble."

I glare back at Byakuya, and my stomach grumbles again, louder.

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

"Don't cause any trouble."

She glares back at me, and I hear her stomach grumble. I feel myself soften a bit, maybe I should just give her something to eat... but then again, she ate the Koi. I think. It would not be right. Perhaps she shall wait until lunch for some proper food.

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

Byakuya pauses for a moment, and my heart rises a little, will he? Then he turns away, and my heart sinks. He isn't going to.

Something warm pats my head, and I look up to see Byakuya withdraw his hand, "Sorry, kitten. But I can't let you eat Koi and think you can get away with it," he says softly.

So I sit there, beside his haori, and watch as he gets into his stance, ready to do a mock spar with Renji. _Okay...so maybe it was partly my fault that I wanted to eat Koi...but I didn't eat any, so it's not my fault. Well, technically it is my fault because if I had been quicker I would've been able to eat it, but I wasn't fast enough, so it was my fault. But Nee-san was the one that made me fall, so it wasn't my fault. But then again, if I had been quicker I wouldn't be starving right now, so it was my fault? Eh? Argh!_

I shook my head, trying to clear out the confusing thoughts. _Note to self: talking to yourself too much can lead to very confusing one-person convos. Wait, that's not right. Conversations have to have at least 2 people, so should I call it a monologue? But who has heard of a confusing one-person monologue? What? Okay, maybe I should just stop talking to myself..._ I look over beside me, and stare at the still wet captain haori. I get onto my paws, and spread it out on the bench/floor/bench/floor so it would dry better in the sun.

* * *

~~**3rd PERSON POV** ~~

The kitten/Tatomi sits there, watching Byakuya spar with Renji. A couple of trainees loose interest, hearing the others say that it was a mock spar, and that neither of the two were actually sparring for real. One of them gets tired, and decides to sit down.

"This is so boring," says one, walking over to where Tatomi sat.

"Yeah," says the other, following them over, "You just know they're not even trying when Renji is yelling advice at us while he's sparring with our Taichou," he deadpanned.

"Their bankais are interesting and all, but frankly I just want to rest today. I wish the captain would spar with one of us instead. Even Renji spars with us."

"Renji spars with us rarely," says the other, sitting down, "But Taichou is kinda-" A shriek of pain interrups him, and the subordinate leaps to his feet. The others whom had been closely observing the spar between Renji and Byakuya, noticed that Byakuya shot a scathing look over to where the two other subordinates were.

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

Don't glare at me, Byakuya. It's not my fault this idiot decided to sit on my tail! Why do you guys all have to abuse my tail, anyways?! I-

"Oi, you idiot, you nearly sat on this cat!" says the 'friend' of the idiot-who-tried-to-sit-on-me.

"Tch, how was I suppose to see it? And it's not a cat, moron!" the moron-who-tried-to-sit-on-me says, "It's a kitten."

I glare at them both and hiss.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, MORON!" says the 'friend' of the baka-who-tried-to-sit-on-me, "YOU ANGERED THE CAT! WHAT TYPE OF PERSON TRIES TO ANNOY A CAT?!"

_You. Or well, should I say, you're friend._

"WHAT?! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?! PLUS, THE KITTY'S AN IDIOT FOR SITTING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! SOMETHING AS TINY AS THAT CAN'T DO ANY DAMAGE, ANYWAYS-" the moron-who-tried-to-sit-on-me says, pointing his finger at me. My eye twitches in annoyance.

"SO WHAT IF IT'S WEAK? YOU'RE STILL AN IDIOT! AND A MORON!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CALLED IT A CAT! IT'S A KITTEN! A WEAKLING KITTY SO WHO CARES IF WE ANNOY IT-"

I jump onto the moron-who-tried-to-sit-on-me, and proceed to biting his ear. Hard.

"OWWWWWWWWWW" he howls, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS KITTY?!"

"IDIOT! I TOLD YOU NOT TO ANNOY IT!"

By this time, most of the trainees gathered around to observe the spar between Byakuya and Renji were no longer watching. All of their heads were turned towards the scene where the kitty had been left.

"Taichou..."

"Lets stop here, Renji." They sheath their zanpakutos and Byakuya shunpos to where the kitty was , er, giving punishment to one of his subordinates. Seeing the look on Byakuya's face, the faces of the two subordinates went pale. Little did they know that Byakuya's annoyance was not at them, but at the white furball attatched to one of their ears.

* * *

 

I huff again, but Byakuya merely tightens his hold on my tail. My poor tail...by the end of the day, I'll be lucky if it's still attached to me...Where are we going, anyways? I look around the place as Byakuya quickens his pace, Renji following close behind him. Well, Byakuya dismissed everyone for an early lunch, so maybe we were going to eat lunch too? I settle myself comfortably in Byakuya's arms. If we were going for lunch then, surely it was worth it to not act up.

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

A while later, we arrive at the Kuchiki manor. We go in, and I open my mouth to inform someone to fix up some fish for the kitten, when a hell butterfly lands on the tip of my finger.

"Kuchiki-taichou, please report to a captain's meeting immediately."

I nod, and the hell butterfly flies back out an open window. I study the kitten for a moment. It would be unsuitable to bring the kitten along, especially after taking the trainee incident into account. I set the kitten on the ground where it looked up at me with her head slightly tilted to one side.

I hesitate, and her ear flicks curiously, "Renji, take care of her until I return. Hopefully it will not take long."

* * *

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I roll around in my blankets, the growling of my stomach echoing through the room. I couldn't sleep. For the whole day, I hadn't eaten a single thing.

_"Here," says Renji, offering me some artificial cat food. I turn away in disgust._

_1\. Those made me sick_

_2\. Those made me sick_

_3\. Byakuya would probably korosu me if I threw up in his house. Well, after Renji korosu me first, that is._

_"Fine then, be like that," Renji picks up his bowl of rice and proceeds to eating it. The ahou. I give him the most imploring wide green eyes, but he merely shuts his eyes, "Your fault, not mine."_

_And then when Byakuya returned, Renji left. And then Byakuya left again. Being the idiot I was, I finally decided to be good, just so they'd feed me dinner. But Byakuya didn't come back yet, and Rukia came to simply tuck me into bed/basket._

Great. I groaned, and hopped out of my bed/basket, careful not to tip it over like last time. Maybe the kitchen would have something I could eat. I wander out of my room, my pawsteps echoeing way too loudly through the halls, and my shadow stretched extremely long under the glow of the chandelier above me. Stepping into the kitchen, the first thing that catches my eye is something on the table. I blink my eyes a few times.

_Maybe I was going dellusional now._

I sniff the air, and the sweet aroma flows through my nose.

Dragonfruit.

I leap onto the table, and was about to sink my teeth into it, when Byakuya's spiritual pressure fills the room.

"Scatter, SenbonZakura."

* * *

_"Chire, Senbonzakura."_

_Shoot._

I froze, my jaw half-open. Argh, dammit, not again... My eye twitches in annoyance, and I look up to see a swirl of pink petals over my head, covering the whole ceiling in blossoms of pink. Something bubbles up in my chest, and my annoyance vanishes. A purr escapes, and my tail swishes carelessly. Forgetting that it was Byakuya's zanpakuto, I'm unaware that my tail drifts directly into the path of a petal.

 _Mistress, watch out-_ I squeeze my eyes shut, and see Byakuya thrust his hand out before my eyes are fully shut. _(The flower petals must be so pretty...) Shut up, you want me to hurt myself again? (Did you feel any pain just now?) Well, no...but... (So? Lets see the flowers!) Last time you got me in trouble... (You're not going to keep your eyes closed forever, are you?)_

I blinked them open, and see one petal drift down, not far away from me. So pretty... I swipe at it playfully. Then my green eyes meet stormy violet ones, and I stumble back a few steps.

_Oh yeah...Byakuya was trying to kill me with his zanpakuto...I think..._

Then Byakuya dissappears from my vision as the sakura petals come flying towards me.

 _Ah...Yokoso, where are you?! ...oi, Yokoso! Here. ...help me out? ...You got yourself into this mess, mistress. Don't go dragging me into this... Aw..._ y _ou're so mean..._

Silence.

 _Wait, you actually mean that?! Yokoso! Why?_ Sigh. _Maybe I should've just wandered out to Rukongai and got some food from there instead..._ The sakura petals zoomed towards me. Time seemed to slow down, then speed up all at once.

There was nothing I could really do, except for squeezing my eyes shut. Again.

...

I heard the sound of zanpakuto cutting something, but I felt no pain. Okay, this was getting kinda annoying. Not that I wanted to get myself hurt, but seriously, was I going delusional now?! A light breeze ruffled my fur, and I blinked open my eyes at once, knowing too well it was a sign of Byakuya's shunpo. I catch a glimps of him as he passes by me, and whirl around to see him sitting down in front of the table, eating something.

There was the dragonfruit, beautifully cut, on the plate in front of him.

"Don't do that again," he says quietly; referring to me sneaking out to eat dragonfruit, or playing with his zanpakuto? I wasn't so sure..

Byakuya...you're so different now. Your stoical expression that you wear everyday now is so different from before, when you use to show your emotions so freely. I wish I could just make you smile again. All I see is annoyance written all over you. Not that I want to see you in pain, but sometimes you seem so withdrawn... I like it though. Frankly, Byakuya, I wouldn't change a thing of the way your are right now. I wouldn't. I miss that part of you, that part of you when you were a child, it was so easy to find when we were both young, but now you guard it so well. I wouldn't change anything though-

Except, you should be nice and share that dragonfruit.

My stomach grumbles, reminding me of what I was doing here. Oh yeah. Hungry. Food. Dragonfruit. That's right.

"Mraow," I said, doing my best to communicate.

...Byakuya continues on eating.

I sweatdrop and padded over to his end of the table, "Mraow."

His eyebrow twitches so ever slightly, showing he had heard, but he still didn't respond. Was he purposely ignoring me?! How dare he! _Well, in that case, I guess I'll just have to get it by myself..._ I dart forward, and nearly bashed my nose against his hand that he suddenly raised, blocking me from the plate of dragonfruit. In one swift motion, I leap up, trying to leap over his handd, but my paws reach the top of his hand before gravity wins over. I tumble down, my tail thudding painfully on the table. I roll over, crashing into the sleeve of his shihikasho.

Tch.

A few seconds later I emerge, and flick my ear crossly in his direction. His violet eyes shift briefly to me, and I swear I saw a hint of amusement. My fur spiked with idignation, _Byakuya, this isn't funny._ My stomach grumbled again. _Well, I suppose two could play at that game..._

I bunch up my hind legs and take a leap, landing firmly on his shoulders. He stiffens. "Mraow," I said again, louder, nudging the back of his ear with my nose.

"No," Byakuya says, and proceeds to eating another piece of dragonfruit.

The stubborn idiot. He was always like this. I had the temptation of sticking out my tongue at him just for that.

 _(Giving up already?)_ taunts my cat part of me _, (This is why I'd leap out of the window right now and head directly to the Koi pond.) Course not! Anyways, there's no window that I can leap out of right now... (You're gonna give up-) Look. You and I both know that I've starved enough today..._

I leaped onto Byakuya's head, mentally noting that he wasn't wearing his kenseikens at this time of night, but had his hair tied up into the ponytail that I had been so use to seeing back when we were young. _Here I go..._ I hung upsidedown so that I could see the up-side-down version of his face. No idea how this was possible, but hey, being part of the Shihoine family had its up side! I licked his nose, "Mrrrrraowwwwwwww."

Byakuya closes his eyes briefly, a sign of annoyance and something else, "Get off at once. I had already said no."

Pretending I didn't hear, I draped myself over his face, and meowed again. Something caught hold of my tail firmly, and pulled me off, setting me to the ground. I look up to see Byakuya glaring at me.

"It's late. You should be in your bed, kitten. Sleeping. " _How do you expect me to fall asleep with an empty stomach?!_ was what I wanted to say, but Byakuya had already returned to eating his dragonfruit. _Fine then, be like that. It's not my fault if I- When has it ever been your fault, Mistress? Ah, Yokoso, you came back again. No I didn't, I'm leaving now. ..._

I released a tad bit of reliatsu into my legs-screw Byakuya if he recognizes it-, shunpoed by Byakuya, leaping up ath the same time in an arc shape, before landing right infront of the door, with his hair tie in my jaws.

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see the kitten land at the doorway, and my hair falls onto my neck. I thought back to when Yoruichi and Tatomi would steal my hair tie. If this kitten thought she's going to be able to get away, the kitten is wrong. I had already prepaired a foolproof counter attack years ago.

"Kekkai number 2, Hachigyo Sogai."

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

"Kekkai number 2, Hachigyo Sogai."

I prepare to leave, but stopped, realizing that a _certain someone_ had blocked the door.

"Give it back, kitten," says Byakuya's voice behind me. His hand stretches out beside me, and I open my jaw, dropping the hair tie safely between my paws. Good luck getting it now, Byakuya.

I turn my head to where I could see his face clearly, "Mraow." I said, demanding for the dragonfruit.

Byakuya ignored me, "I won't repeat myself again."

"Mrraow."

"..."

"..."

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I glare back at him.

"Kitten, I want my hair tie back. Now." I don't budge. "Please."

"Mraow."

Byakuya grits his teeth, and I hold up his hair tie, hooked to my claw. I felt kind of bad, just a little. But I was also tired of being starved. Especially when I was in the Kuchiki house. Plus, it wasn't as if-my eyes widen as I felt something enter my mouth. Swallowing it quickly, I realized only afterwards that it was dragonfruit. I looked up at Byakuya, whom still had his hand stretched out, demandingly.

I slowly unhooked the hair tie from my claw, and dropped it into his hand. He tied his hair up briskly, and for a brief moment I felt my heart ache, seeing the younger version of Byakuya standing before me. Byakuya... My stomach grumbles again.

"Here," he says, and to my suprise, he sets the plate of the rest of dragonfruit before me, "Just leave it here when you're done." The barrier vanishes, and he leaves.

 _Oh._ I stared back at the dragonfruit. _Ano...Arigatou, Byakuya._

* * *

Tmp, Tmp, tmp, tmp. I stiffle a yawn, as I'm padding down the corridors, back to my own 'room'. I pause for a moment outside of Byakuya's room, noting that his light was still on. Working on paperwork at this hour... I crept up to the door, and went in silently, squeezing through the little gap in between the door and the wall.

Byakuya's sitting in front of the-all-too-familiar desk where he use to spend hours practicing calligraphy. Beside him is a tall stack of paperwork, which were still undone. I creep closer, not wanting to disturb him. The last time that I did that...well, lets just say it didn't end too well. I mean, I didn't exactly want Senbonzakura to be pointed at me again, even if Byakuya only used it to cut dragonfruit...

_Coward._

_I am not!_ I pause, fuming, _plus, it's not like you were brave enough to help me out, back there!_

_That's because I knew he wouldn't hurt you on purpose._

_Sure you did...where are you, anyways?_

_You don't know?!_

_...if I knew I wouldn't be asking, you idiot!_

_I don't know, sometimes you do it anyways to annoy people._ I didn't reply. _I'm strapped onto you. Duh._

 _Strapped onto me?_ I twisted around, trying to see my back.

 _I'm not strapped onto your back!_ Aside, _why must I get the mistress that's an idiot._ To me, _I'm stuck onto your collar._

_Oh._

I raise my head, to look at Byakuya. His eyes swerved to me for a moment, then back to his paperwork. The fatigue was evident, even though his posture hid most of it. The violet eyes were slightly glazed, and a cup of something bitter smelling was beside him. What was he thinking, working like that?! I thought, a tiny ball of anger forming inside me, it was way past anyone's bed time! I considered jumping onto the table top and persuading him to go to bed-

_With you?_

_You. Shut. Your. Mouth._

_Fine, but-_

_He's tired, ah, dammit, can't you see that?!_

_I'm envious, you care about him more than you care about me. It really must be true lov-_

_SHUT UP ALREADY!_

I could practically see Yokoso smirk at me, and I roughly swiped at my collar in response. Ding ding ding. Oops. Byakuya paused, looked at me, and went back to work.

 _Ow...don't take out your desperation at me. Desperation?! If you want him to know that badly, just say so. Or, better yet, go leap up and kiss him on the cheek, or even better, kiss him right on the lips; BULLS EYE! DID I NOT TELL YOU TO SHUT YOUR LITTLE-_ I sighed, and narrowed my eyes at my collar. _Getting so worked up when I talk about you and Byakuya, eh? It's okay, Mistress, you'll get your chance to confess. Hey, I have a great idea! I can ask Senbonzakura if his master has feelings for you- You. Have. Drank. Too. Much. Sake._

 _This better knock you outta your daze._ I lifted my paw and swiped at my collar again, harder. DING DING DING ding ding ding. Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww why do I have a single mistress?! I felt an anger vein pop, and swiped at my collar again, oblivious to Byakuya's deepend frown. **DING DING DING** DING DING DING ding ding ding ding ding ding-

"What?" says Byakuya slowly, putting down his brush and struggling to remain calm. Oops. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't've hit Yokoso that third time. _That's right, my head is still ringing!_ _You brought it onto you..._ _Fine then, see if I'll go and apologize to save your ass_. _Restoring to obscenities, hm?_ I frowned inwardly at my zanpakuto, _watch your tongue Yokoso. You should appropriate language for a zanpakuto, especially a zanpakuto that's as carefully raised as you._ _Hm, this story does have a T-rating, Mistress. Why not live up to it?_ says Yokoso smugly before leaving.I blinked, and felt the ball of anger inside me grow, as my vision zeroed in to Byakuya's hand.

Goosebumps.

I glare at Byakuya, "Mraowwww." which meant 'first you tire yourself out, and now you're trying to freeze yourself too?' I surveyed the room quickly before padding to a chaise with something draped on it that was sitting in the corner of the room. Nudging the thick wool coat with my nose, my emerald eyes met Byakuya's. "Mraow."

Byakuya's jaw stiffens, and he turns back to his paperwork.

"Mraow." I said more insistently, looking at Byakuya with my nose tucked into his coat.

"No. Thank you." He says slowly, as if he was forcing the words out of his throat.

Tch, the idiot. _Mistress...maybe you shouldn't be distracting him from his work. He spent most of his time with you today, and he needs to finish it_. _Yeah, yeah, but it's not like I'm gonna let him freeze to death.._ I caught Yokoso smirking, _don't say it..._ _alright, alright, I won't. Just let me say 'I told you so' when you find out I'm right._

I duck under the coat, and wrap my tail around it to keep it secured on my back. Leaping off the chaise, I padded over to Byakuya, and stood beside him expectantly. When he didn't respond, I swiped my paw at my collar. Ding ding ding.

Byakuya's eyes met mine again, and I widened my eyes in innocence, silently daring him to refuse. He sighed, "Fine." He takes the coat, mumbling 'stupid annoying kitten' under his breath.

* * *

A bright light hits my eyes, and I moan.. go away. I'm not ready to get up.

Something shuffled around me and next thing I knew, I felt myself falling down from my bed.

"Hurry up and get up, or I'll leave without you," growls a voice. I didn't move, and kept my eyes closed as I layed splayed out on the floor. " Cut it out! Oh Kami-sama, how does Taicho deal with a gaki like you?!"

My tail twitched at the insult. Gaki? I sprang up and launched myself at Renji's stomach, making him fall backwards on his butt. Who's the gaki now, hm? _Well, at least you're awake. I thought you were MY zanpakuto. I am. So why're you taking his side?! Wait, no, don't answer that._

Hearing Renji say a strand of the most colourful phrases made me smirk at him. Then I yelp in pain as I'm suspended into the air, Renji gripping my tail hard. Yowling, I twist around and around, trying to get free. Renji's face comes into view, his red pineapple head towering over me, "Who's the one smirking now, huh? Gaki." Eh?

"Hissssssssssssssssssss"

Renji keeps on towering over me, his smirk widening further and further.

Who was he to think that he could get me into this sorta position?! I unsheath my claw and swipe at his nose.

"OWWWWWWWWW" he lets me go and rubs his nose. Not taking anymore chances, I dive to the ground, and start running as fast as I could outta here. "GET BACK HERE YOU GAKI!"

 _He's so stupid,_ I thought as I ran, _I'm not a gaki, I'm a kitten. Wait, no, that's not right. I'm Tatomi, not a kitten. I'm Tatomi Shihoine! A great Shihoine you are, running away from red-pineapple-head. That's only 'cause I'm a kitten right now, and you're not helping me out! And who's fault is that? If you had just agreed to come with Yoruichi on this trip, you'd still be in your Shinigami form right now, and you could've chose to change into a kitten while you were here! ...that's true... That's right, so don't go blaming me for what you did! But you're my zanpakuto..._ Inwardly I wanted to slap myself. Why hadn't I thought of that?!

"Gotcha!" roars Renji, hand closing around my tail once more. I yowl in desperation and start swiping my paw randomly. "Nope, you're not getting away this time, you gaki!" He shoves his hand towards me, palm up. "Bakudo #1, Sai!"

Instead of six golden rods emprisoning me, a big cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere. I swiped at the fume desperately with my paws, feeling the tip of my fur getting slightly burned. _Why did no one tell me that pineapple-head here was so bad at kido?!_

Once the smoke had cleared, I launched myself at Renji, claws unsheathed. You're the gaki, trying to kill the two of us with your backfiring kido. I land on his head and start trying to rip his hair band. "Oi, stop that!" he yells, grabbing at me.

"Renji."

We both freeze and look up. "T-Taichou!"

Byakuya glared at me, darn it, "What is going on?" Renji was speecheless. "You will behave." I met Byakuya's eyes defiantly, refusing to nod or shake my head. Violet eyes bore into mine, but I stood my ground, and so did he. The corner of Byakuya's mouth suddenly quirked up in a smirk. I felt a pinch on my nose, and blinked. Byakuya was walking away from us already. I stuck my tongue out at his back. Byakuya shunpoed, then vanished.

Renji hit my head with his hand, and I whip around to glare at him. _You wanna start that fight again?_ "Don't stick your tongue out at Taichou," he growls, "It's disrespectful." Not waiting for my reply, he pickes me up by my tail, and shunpos to Squad six.

The shunpo was fine, until something hit my head and I blacked out.

* * *

~~**RENJI'S POV** ~~

I land at the front of the door, half expecting the kitty to jump up and claw at my face again. Instead, it was strangly quiet. Looking closely at it, I realized it was unconscious. Damm, did her head hit the door by accident or something?

_Rule #4 for shunpo learners: Hold tightly to the object that you're transporting with you._

_Okay, maybe I shouldn't've just gripped her tail._

I sighed and went into the office, ignoring the strange looks the subordinates gave to the unmoving kitten, and gave them my usual ohayou. I closed the door behind me, looked at the large stack of paperwork on my desk. I sighed. With taichou gone on a 'mission', and so much paperwork, maybe it was a good thing that the kitten was unconscious. At least I'd be able to get some work done.

I placed it on Taichou's chair, which had his captain's haori, and sat down at my own dest, and begun to work.

* * *

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I groaned, and opened my eyes a bit. Ow...my head hurt...I took a deep breath, what is this scent around me? What'ver I was laying on was so soft. I took another breath, and tried to roll over in a more comfortable position. I yowled in pain, _OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW_

~~**RENJI'S POV** ~~

I was halfway through my paperwork, and had just handed the finished ones to my subordinate, when I heard the yowl. The eyes of the subordinate widened, and he practically ran out of the room. The kitten was awake, I realized with horror. Now I had to deal with it. Maybe you should knock it out again, Renji, says Zambimaru. Are you guys stupid or what?! Didn't you say Taichou expects me to take care of it?! Then, I'd suggest for you to go to Hitsugaya-taichou and get some ice for it.

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I growned, that loud screeching noise did not help with my headache. _That was you, idiot._ _Don't talk..._ I hissed as both our voices sent another round of painful pounding through my head. Kuso kuso kuso, I was gonna make that Renji pay. Didn't he know about Shunpo rule #4?! Oh Kami-sama, help me... Once I get my claws onto him...

I heard a faint shuffle a few feet away from me, and raised my head to see Renji sneeking out of the room. Oh no. He. Is. Not. Getting. Away.

* * *

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

I wretched open my office door, and saw my office, or should I say, what was left of it.

In the center of the room, there was Renji and the kitten, locked together in a wrestling format.

I was suddenly well aware that Senbonzakura was nicely tucked in my belt, ready to be drawn at any moment.

"What is going on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is...the Bleach fandom dead... (cries)  
> I usually leave my tumblr, but I don't post/reblog Bleach at all... (oops)


	5. Head Injuries are Sensitive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sometimes the world turns gray_   
>  _When all my lights are taken away_   
>  _The walls start closing in_   
>  _Then loneliness is mistaken for pain._

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

_Master, are you alright?_ says Senbonzakura quietly.

I narrow my eyes at him, _Who do you think you're talking to?_

I closed my eyes, taking a moment to compose myself. _Think of something satisfactory. But what was?_ _The office is repaired now._ _Yes. Good. The office was repaired._ _Not all of the paperwork was destroyed._ _That was true as well. The finished ones had already been delivered to Yamamoto-san, or whomever else that had needed it._

I opened my eyes and glared at Renji and the kitten. _Thank you, Senbonzakura. I can handle things from here._

* * *

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I meowed and tried to struggle out of Byakuya's grip on my tail. Let me down! Why do you all hafta torture my poor tail?

I suddenly felt a change in Byakuya's reliatsu and realized he was going to shunpo. Oh shoot. Please please please don't ignore shunpo's rule #4... I took a peek at his face, and saw his lips quirk up in that mischievious smile of his. Kuso. Wretching my tail out of his suddenly loosened grip, I launched myself at his shukuso and scramble into the space between his captain haori and shukuso, keeping a tight grip onto him.

The air swirls around us for a brief moment, before we land in someplace. I loosen my grip, and next thing you know I'm nearly flung off of Byakuya as he uses shunpo again. He curses under his breath, and I'm pulled back into his chest by a strong arm. We stop again at someplace in the Soul Society, and he gives me the most scathing look.

"Keep a tight grip at all times, you idiotic kitten."

Then he uses shunpo again. _ARG I AM SICK AND TIRED OF SHUNPO! WAS THIS SOME SORT OF PUNISHMENT OR SOMETHING?!_ Then we stop at the next place, stopping just in time for me to see the blur of a pair of golden eyes, and a purple ponytail flash out of sight.

_Nee-san._

Then Byakuya used shunpo again.

Finally we ended up at someplace I recognized. The Shihoine place. Or residence. Or what'ver Nee-san called it.

"Yoruichi," says Byakuya before Nee-san could run away again.

"Aww," Nee-san smirks at Byakuya, "Ending our little game of tag so soon, Bya-bo?"

 _Nee-san!_ I meowed happily and launched myself at her head, and started thumping it with my paw. _How dare you leave me with Byakuya for two days?!_ "Meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"

Byakuya turnes and starts walking away. "I'm returning the kitten," he says, and uses shunpo.

Yoruichi shunpos and ends up infront of him, blocking his way. She dumps me into Byakuya's arms, much to my dismay, "Oh no you don't, Byakuya. My kitten is not some for sale and return object. You promised you'd look after her. I told you, I'm busy here."

"I cannot have your kitten destroy my office all day," says Byakuya, dumping me back into Yoruichi's folded arms. I land, and nearly slip off her arms.

Nee-san holds a finger up to my nose, "That's it. When I get you back, no dragon fruit for you for two months." I flick my tail idignatly. It wasn't entirely my fault. Why wasn't red-pineapple-head getting punished?! Yoruichi smacks my head to emphasize my point, and her hand lands right on the bump that had formed when Renji knocked me out while he was using shunpo.

I screech in pain.

So maybe Nee-san was baka enough to leave me in Byakuya's care. However, she did know the difference between whining and real pain. She sets me on the ground, crouches over me, and starts expertly combing through my fur with her hand, revealing the bump. "What's this?" says Yoruichi, throwing Byakuya an accusing look.

Byakuya sighs and walks over, his eyes widening when he saw the bump.

"Abarai!"

~~**RENJI'S POV** ~~

"Er, thanks guys," I say when our subordinants were finished with the 'renovation' of Taichou's office. I sit down once again infront of the pile of paperwork that hadn't been damaged, and start to work. "Matte," I say to the last one leaving, "Can you get me another copy of the forms that were damaged?" The subordinate nods. "Arigatou."

Some peaceful minutes come by, before a sudden flare in Taichou's reliatsu fills the room. A hell butterfly flies in, and lands on my finger. "Abarai!" says Taichou's voice.

Kuso. _What kind of trouble did I get into now?_

* * *

"Yes Taichou?" I said, arriving at the Shihoine residence, with Zambimaru attached at my belt.

His cold violet eyes meet mine, and I gulp. _This was not good._

"Explain this," he says, pointing to the kitten. At first glace, it looked fine. Then I noticed the pale pink bump on her head. Eh? _Didn't you knock it out when you were using shunpo to get to Byakuya's office this morning?_ says Zambimaru. _Oh yeah...Oh kuso..._

"Gomenasai, Taichou," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. _Please don't ask me to explain, please don't ask me to explain. He already asked you to explain,_ Zambimaru deadpans. _URUSAI._

"I'll forgive you on one condition, Byakuya," says Yoruichi, her golden eyes boring into Byakuya's, "If you'll continue to take care of this kitten until I return to the Soul Society."

"Return?" says Byakuya slowly, an inquiring look in his eyes.

Yoruichi nodded. "I'm going back to Urahara Shoten, you know, the shop. I'll be there for a while, then I'll come back again."

Byakuya bit his lip, "Can you take something back with you?"

"What do you mean?" says Yoruichi, her golden eyes suddenly gleaming, "Who's it for?"

"I-" then Byakuya notices the gleam and sighs, realizing she wasn't taking this seriously, "Nevermind."

"Did you mean the kitten? 'Cause the kitten is staying."

Immediatly, the kitten meowed frantically and latched itself onto Yoruichi's foot. I was momentarily forgotten, thank goodness.

"Can you not take it with you?" says Byakuya slowly, his eyebrows knit together in annoyance.

"I have some buisness to take care of. Don't worry, Bya-bo, I'm only staying there for a week." _A week?! Who knew how much of Soul Society the kitten would've destroyed if it stayed for a week?!_ Yoruichi's eyes twinkled, "You two might even get better aquainted, Byakuya."

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

I cling to Nee-san's foot. If only I had agreed to come with her to visit, then I could be going back already...

Then Byakuya sighs dejectedly and says the two unforgivable words.

"Very well."

I glare fiercly at them both.

Then I try one more time.

"Nee-san, don't leave me! Please!" I meow.

It didn't work.

* * *

It was a long day. Very long day. I sat just inside the doorway of the Kuchiki mansion, still refusing to move. Byakuya had already given up, but keeping to his word like always, he had somehow made it impossible for me to leave the Kuchiki mansion, so there was no way I could go and run back to Nee-san.

"Hey,"

My ears flick to show I heard Rukia's voice. She walks over to me, the tenth time today, and crouches down.

"C'mon. It's dinner time."

I study the floor. _Nee-san left me._

"Um..." then her eyes brighten and she pulls out chappy, "Chappy wants to eat dinner with you!"

I don't move. _It's going to be so lonely here._

"Please?"

_..._

"I'll play with you while Yoruichi's gone, 'kay? Then you won't be so lonely when you come back to the Kuchiki mansion, okay?"

 _..._ _Mistress, how long are you going to stay here, sulking?_ my zanpakuto chided. I sighed in resignation. Okay... I stood up and nudged Rukia's outstreched hand, before following her to the dining room.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))(((((Two days later)))))))

I entered the Kuchiki mansion, and cocked my head in confusion. Where was Rukia? Then I remembered.

_We sat on her bed, Rukia combing my fur after another day. I let out a purr as I felt the comb brush gently against my skin. This was an unsual luxury, afterall I was very rough with my hair whenever I was running late, running out of patience or nervous, which was practically all the time._

_The brush strokes pause, "Um, kitten?" I looked up at her sudden change of tone in her voice. "I'm going on a mission tomorrow, with Renji. So um..." I feel Rukia's hand start to shake, and I feel a pang of guilt. She had been taking care of me so well, what type of person would I be to make her feel bad about leaving? I nodded, feeling my heart sink. It was going to be lonely in the Kuchiki mansion, once again. "I'll be back soon though, 'kay?" I nod, and nudge her hand, making her smile a bit. "Meow," I said, 'take care.'_

I heard Byakuya walk past me, and into his office. These 3 days' events danced before my eyes, and I felt my chest tighten. Nee-san was leaving. Not permanantly. She'd be back in a week, says Yokoso. Rukia is leaving. She'll be back soon. Even red-pineapple-head was leaving, which meant I really had no one to bother. And Byakuya? We don't talk anymore. ... Anyways, he spends too much time in that study room of his, and senbonzakura guards the door whenever he's in there.

It felt like as if Byakuya had left too.

I padded slowly to a sofa, got onto it slowly. There was the slight scent of Byakuya on it. I lay down flat on my stomach, and bury my nose into the crevass between the cushion and the arm of the sofa, and Byakuya's scent flooded my nostrils. _Byakuya...Nee-san...Rukia...Renji...Ichigo...Urahara..._ I felt tears prick my eyes... _why am I so alone?_ I recoiled in horror from the sofa when I felt my tears fall freely. My collar jingles sofly on it's own.

_I'm here with you, Mistress._

_I know..._ I shook, and more tears started to fall. _Mistress..._ this time there was a worried tone to Yokoso. _I-I'm sorry. I know you're here, Yokoso, and I'm glad you are._ _But I..._ I wiped at my face with my paw, _oh geez, I don't even know what's wrong with me today._

I made sure my face was dry, then layed down, breathing in Byakuya's scent... I closed my eyes, and felt Yokoso's prescense grow further and further. _Yokoso? I'll be back in minute. Okay..._ I felt tears prick my eyes again. _Oh great, what was wrong with me?! Everyone leaving to do what they needed to do was normal, for goodness sake!_ I told myself, _so snap out of it!_

~~**3RD PERSON POV** ~~

Yokoso goes up to Senbonzakura, who was guarding the door loyally. Senbonzakura twitches when he felt the slight flicker of reliatsu flash through the air.

'Suppressing your reliatsu again, Yokoso?'

'Is that a new mask, Senbonzakura?'

Senbonzakura huffs, 'Why're you here, so far away from your mistress?'  
  
Yokoso smirks mysteriously, 'Oh, I'm not so far away. It's not like you know where my mistress is , anyways.'  
  
'I know you didn't come to bicker, Yokoso.' Senbonzakura channels his reliatsu at Yokoso, and she immediatly draws back. 'Something's troubling you.'  
  
Yokoso scoffs, 'That kitten your master is looking after.'  
  
'What about it?'  
  
'You should go check up on it. No, not you you, you baka. I meant you, as in your master.'  
  
'Alright. I'll tell him.'  
  
'You'd better.'  
  
'Is that a challenge?'  
  
'Are you losing your temper so quickly?'  
  
'Silence. You should be heading back to your mistress. What if she's running into trouble?'  
  
'I can keep an eye on her from here.'

Yokoso turns to leave, then whirls back and tugs sharply at Senbonzakura's mask, causing it to slip down, revealing his eyes. He catches it before it slides fully down, 'Imbecile!'

Yokoso smirks, and starts retreating back into her inner world, 'And thanks. I really mean it.'

* * *

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

I'm tired, I realize, as tears continue to fall. I close my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. I wish there was someone with me...I hiccup, burying my nose deeper into the sofa. I won't cry anymore, I won't cry anymore, I told myself, but that had the exact opposite affect.

~~_Flashback_ ~~

_That cloud looks like a kitten...and that one looks like Byakuya when he's mad...I stifle a giggle, and continue to stare at the clouds. That one there looks like-_

_"Tatomi?"_

_I turn around, startled to see a large honeysuckle right infront of my face, "Yokoso?" I tilt my head in confusion, "What're you doing here in Urahara's shop?"_

_Yokoso draws back and wacks my face with one of his petals, "Look around again, you idiot."_

_I look around, and see the all-too-familiar forest-my inner world? How did I-_

_"You were sulking around, so I though this time I should give you a visit," says Yokoso._

_"Oh. Um, arigatou then," I say, and study the forest floor, which looked more moist than usual._

_"Stop sulking, you idiot. The forest is suffering from side effects of your sulky mood. Now, what's bothering you? You've been like this ever since Yoruichi took you here. Are you unhappy?" says Yokoso._

_"No, it's just...I miss Nee-san. She's here, but she doesn't talk to me much. And everyone else is all occuppied with healing some stuff that's been kept from me..." I hang my head in guilt, "And I..I can't heal you. I'm sorry..I only have a piece of the porcelain bracelet. One tiny piece."_

_"Let me see," says Yokoso quietly, and I place it on one of her pollen pods carefully. Yokoso looks at it silently, turning it over carefully and brushing it carefully with the tip of her pod, "It's a small piece, Mistress, but at least it's something."_

_"I'm so sorry. I've been really...hard to deal with. I know I'm suppose to take care of you. I'm so sorry. I...is there anyway I can try to make it up to you, and...and this place?" I say, studying the forest floor and the small plants currently drowning in the puddles._

_"What's done is done, and there's no way either of us can go back. I'll keep this piece, so you don't have to worry about it, alright?" I nodded in thanks. "Now, as for what you can do, stop sulking. Lift your mood. You're wrecking this place right now," says Yokoso, gesturing to the forest around us._

A warm hand rested on my back, jolting me out of my thoughts. Who- The same hand slid under my stomach, and hefted me up and onto someone's chest. I blinked my eyes, clearing out the tears, to see the scarf..the captain's haori...Byakuya...

A lump formed in my throat, and before I knew it, a whimper escapes from my throat and tears start falling onto my whiskers again. Byakuya pressed me against his chest, holding me tightly to him. I buried my face into his chest, feeling the tears flow, and his warmth spreading around and into me, feeling oddly comforted. Slowly, my sobs subsided into hiccups, and Byakuya carasses my fur comfortingly.

I felt my eyes start to close, sinking into the softness of Byakuya's scarf, strapped in the warmth...

* * *

I blinked my eyes open, and realized I was still snuggled on Byakuya's chest. I shifted my weight, and looked outside, to see the sun rising-did I fall asleep? Under my paws, I felt Byakuya stir.

My eye twitched when I felt someone else's reliatsu. Familiar, but who was it? All I know is that they don't belong in the Kuchiki house-

A flash suddenly fills the room, and I feel a slight drop in Byakuya's reliatsu. _Byakuya!_ I lick his cheek frantically, my fur on end.

"I'm alright."

My eyes clear and I see him glaring at someone behind us. _That tiny drop of reliatsu must've been caused by him using kido,_ I realized, feeling silly. I took a deep breath to calm myself, and my fur slowly settled down. I peered at Byakuya in concern, that tiny drop of reliatsu WAS caused by him using kido, right?

"I'm fine," says Byakuya, his eyes holding a tint of amusement, and he leans in, kissing me on the forehead.

A sudden bright light fills the room, and I feel everything fading and appearing at the same time. I'm blinded, unable to see anything...


	6. While you are distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You dropped your pen while you were distracted_   
>  _I knelt down quietly while you turned and kept walking_   
>  _Something must have caught your eye,_   
>  _For you were gone when I looked up in my school tie_   
>  _and maybe I am a romantic guy_   
>  _I kept the pen, and started running,_   
>  _Dropped down on one knee, and said 'You dropped it'_   
>  _You dropped your pen while you were distracted by me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Tatomi has a little fun, and Byakuya gets a break (kind of).

A bright flash filled the room, and I shut my eyes again, momentarily blinded again.

Not again.

This all was happening over and over. Wasn't this just a little bit annoying for whomever was causing this to happen?

I felt my collar dissappear, oh lord, what was going to happen this time? I wondered when the bright light didn't fade instantly like the first. It can't be any worse than all that's happened before, right?

Something soft brushed by my neck. Curious, I grabbed hold of it, and gave it a sharp tug, "Ow!" I squeaked, and let go. The light faded, and as the mist in the room started to clear, I saw that I was holding onto a black strand of hair. My hair.

Wait a minute! Did that mean that I-oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I frantically folded my arms over my chest as the mist faded some more. _kusokusokusokusokusokusokusokusokuso_

"How-" then Byakuya's eyes widened, his cheeks turning pale pink and he shoved his captain haori to me before the mist could completely fade. I put it on and wrap it around me, just as another flash filled the room and then dissappeared. Something clattered to the floor.

_Mistress..._

_Hm?_

_Aren't you going to pick me up?_

_Oh, it was you who fell?_

_Are you going to pick me up or not?!_

"..It really is you."

I look at my feet, feeling the heat rise to my face. "Um..."

"You were the kitten," says Byakuya slowly.

"Yes," I said, shooting him a glare, "I can't believe it took you THIS long to figure it out, Byakuya..." I look down again, "Um...uh...arigatou..."

We avoid each other's eyes for a while, then Byakuya smirks, "That explains the weird personality."

I look up, startled, "W-what?" I glare at him accusingly, "So you knew all this time?! I bet you had fun, starving me and having senbonzakura dancing around me and everything. Ignoring me too. "

"I didn't know. I just thought the kitten resembled you," was Byakuya's calm reply as his eyes regain his now normal stoical gaze.

"Oh. Well, um..I knew that..."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"I'm curious. Why didn't you turn back into a human until now?" says Byakuya, studying me.

I shrugged, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"... Are you going to avoid answering this question too, Tatomi?" the change in Byakuya's tone of voice caused me to feel a flash of suprise.

"Well..I..." I looked at him, was that hidden frustration I saw beneath his eyes? Was he angry that I was here? "I didn't transform into a kitten. Someone else did that for me. And this," I gestured to myself, "Suprised me as much as it suprised you."

"THAT'S ALRIGHT KUCHIKI-TAICHOU!" says a third voice from behind me.

I spin around, and see her. It was so long, but she really hadn't changed much. Her ginger/blonde hair had grown, and she matured and stuff, but that sake scent around her would never change. The silence settled into the room once again as the woman stared at me and I stared at her then at the device she held in her hand, a camera. Her name was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't grasp it...what was it again?

_Mistress! Why're you ignoring me?!_

_Wait, why did she have a camera?_ Then the flashes that had filled the room a few moments ago popped into my head. My eye twitched. _A flash and a camera, those could only mean one thing..._

"RANGIKU-CHAN!" I shrieked, attacking the camera she held in her hand, "YOU'VE GROWN SO MUCH!" Caught off guard, she loosens her grip on the camera, and I grab it from her and swifly take out the memory card, snapping it in half. "You haven't changed though," I add sternly, handing her back the useless camera.

"What, who are-" Rangiku takes a good look at me, and her eyes widen in shock, "No way...is that..." She rubs her eyes a few times, then hollers at the top of her lungs, "TAICHOU!"

A short shinigami appears at the doorway. He had white-blue hair, and was wearing a captain's haori with the number 10 on it...Rangiku's squad, if nothing had changed. I cocked my head in confusion, this kid looked familiar... The short shinigami's eyebrows caved together, and he sent daggers towards Rangiku, "There you are, Masumoto. Let's get going, you should be inside working on paperwork, not making some sake excuse and coming here to annoy other Taichos."

"Taichou, look Taichou!" Rangiku starts bouncing up and down, "It's Tatomi! The little girl who welcomed you first when we went into the Soul Society building thing!"

"You've drank too much sake, Masumoto. Lets go-" then the 'Taichou' sees me, and his bewieldered expression mirrored mine.

There's a moment of awkward silence.

"See Taichou?" Rangiku exclaimed, breaking the silence, "You don't recognize her?"

"You probably snuck some sake into my tea, Masumoto," says the shinigami, but his voice wavered slightly as he continued to stare at me.

Then Rangiku turns to me, "You don't recognize Taichou?"

I frowned and stepped closer to take a closer look.

~~_Flashback_ ~~

_Byakuya...I look around the Soul Society Academy yet again after angrily using shunpo to leave the room where he had been recovering in, I can't believe you broke Yokoso... and you're still hospitalized..._

_God Byakuya, why are you so destructive?! I sighed, maybe I should go and find Rangiku-chan to see what she's doing..._

_As if on cue, someone wraps their arms around me, "Tato-chan!"_

_I stiffen, not recognizing the sake scent, "Who are you?"_

_The person-she-sighs, "You're so silly, Tato-chan. Forgot your friend Rangiku already?" She spins me around so I could see her face properly. Her face is slightly flushed._

_I frown, "What's that sake scent?" then my eyes widened, remembering the sake parties that Nee-san would occasionally crash, "Oh no Rangiku, don't tell me you go there..."_

_"Aw, c'mon, it's fun! You should come with me sometime!" Rangiku slings her arm around me, "At least it would take your mind off of Byakuya." She pauses, sensing my mood, "What's wrong?"_

_"Um, it's nothing."_

_Rangiku peers at me worriedly, and after a few seconds I cracked a smile at her 'worried' expression. She smiled too, "I know what will cheer you up, Tatomi! I'll introduce you to someone new, 'kay?" Without waiting for my answer, she dragged me with her to the entrance of the Shinigami Academy. I shot her a look of confusion, and she giggles, "Now we wait for someone to come out. Get it?"_

_I squirm away, "You drank too much sake for one day, Rangiku-chan. Lets go-" I pause, catching a glimps of a short kid wearing the standard trainee uniform come out from the door. One second I was struggling to get away from Rangiku, I was hugging the kid in the next. "You are soooooooo kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" I said, ruffling the kid's white/blue hair._

_"Let go of me!" he yells, his eyes flashing indignantly._

_"Okay, okay," I say, withdrawing while hearing Rangiku laugh uncontrollably in the background, "Welcome to the soul society, by the way," I give the kid a serious look, "We need more innocent and kawai people like you."_

_"I am not cute!"_

_"Yes you are! You're so short and-"_

_"I'm NOT SHORT!" the kid pauses for a moment, "...Er, thanks. You're the first person that's even said welcome."_

_"Hi!" Rangiku pops up too, "Remember me?"_

_"Gah!" the kid takes a step back, "You're that lady from the store!"_

"No way," I said slowly, "You're a taichou now?" I ran my eyes over the kid's furrowed eyebrows and snowy thick hair, before bubbles of happiness overflow and I start ruffling his hair and patting it in one shape, then another- much to his annoyance, "You're still very kawai, kiddo!"

He wacks my hand away, "It's HITSUGAYA-TAICHOU."

Rangiku laughs at my confused stare, "You never learned the 'kawai kid's name, did you? It's Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Really?" I cocked my head at the kid and ruffled his hair again, "Okay then, Toshir-kawai!"

An anger vein pops onto Toshiro's forehead, "I TOLD YOU, IT'S HITSUGAYA -TAICHOU."

I rolled my eyes, "Nope. Too formal."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! I'M A TAICHOU NOW, AREN'T I?"

"Wasn't I the person who welcomed you first when you entered the soul society?"

"Well...yeah..."

I grinned, raising a fist in victory, "So it's settled then, Toshir-kawai!"

"What-" then his blue eyes widen, "ACK DAMMIT YOU TALKED ME INTO IT!"

I ruffle his hair, "You're a kid at heart, Toshir-kawai."

"..." He looks away.

I'm suddenly glomped by Rangiku, and she starts examining my chest. I swipe her hands away, but she held her embrace tight, her blossoms squished against my cheeks, "R-Rangiku-chan? What the-what're you doing?!"

She looks at me, her blue eyes wide, "I may not have changed much, Tatomi, but you have." _I have?_ "Look at this! I can't believe you actually like wearing a captain's haori instead of clothes-" My eyes widen and I look down, realizing I still had Byakuya's haori wrapped around my body. Oops.

_Yeah, that's right, oops. Now, when are you planning to pick me up?!_

_Eh? Oh, right, you're still on the floor._ I pick up my zanpakuto and the kimono that was thrown at me, "Um, I guess I'll go and change-"

"No! No way!" Rangiku takes hold of my wrist, "You're not getting way so easily, Tatomi. Especially not after ignoring me for so long when you were already here," not letting me explain, Rangiku continues, "Come to my sake party, Tatomi. It'll be fun!" she pauses, "And you don't even have to wear a kimono. *squeals in delight* I'm gonna dress you up! Just like the old times! Then we'll spend time together; I bet Byakuya's boring you. Anyway," she continued before either one of us could intervene, "I get to have a longer break this way!"

"Rangiku!" I was now trying to get out of the uncomfortable embrace, "That, um, sounds like a lot of fun, but-"

"No buts!" says Rangiku, grabbing me by the wrist and letting the rest of me go. Waving a finger at me, she says, "Plus, don't you think everyone else wants to see you too? I know I want to introduce to you all the new people, and Renji and Rukia are coming back from their mission with Ichigo, oh, I heard that Ichigo is coming back too, and I bet Kyoraku-taichou misses you, and Ukitake-taichou too! Although I doubt Ukitake-taichou would be there-that's okay, we'll just pay him a visit some other day, or maybe I can convince him to come? Either ways, you're SO not talking yourself out of this! You've turned down way to many invitations to my sake parties! And since you weren't here for so long to turn down the rest, you're coming to this one!"

_Some things never change._

"MASUMOTO!" yells Toshiro.

"Thanks for the extended break, taichou!" says Rangiku with a happy wink, before she shunpos away with me.

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

_A sake party? I inwardly recoil in disgust, but then remember Yoruichi's warning to 'take care of the kitten'. Tatomi wasn't a kitten anymore, but...she is technically still in my care._

_There is no way I'm letting her go to some indecent rowdy place where immature shinigamis will be staring at her-_

_Master, she is already gone._

I feel my eyebrow twitch, and tell myself to breath, to not get worked up, to relax. It is more efficient to fix things this way, was one of the many things I had learned in the years between now and my childhood.

_I better drop by to make sure the idiot doesn't get herself in trouble like she's doing lately. Furthermore, with all those random mood swings going on, the 'party' will either be very successful or extremely-_

"Byakuya," says Toshiro, inturrupting my thoughts, "I apologize for Masumoto's behaviour."

"It's alright," I say, eyeing the zanpakuto that Tatomi had dropped, _meanwhile..._ "It's time I return to my paperwork anyways."

_"Thanks for the extended break, taichou!" says Rangiku with a happy wink, before she shunpos away with me._

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

"Rangiku!" I say, clutching at Byakuya's haori, "Let me go!"

She doesn't loosen her grip, but speeds up, "And let you run away? Nope."

"Rangiku!" I yelled as a breeze blew by, causing the haori to float upwards, "This is going to come off! Do you know how embarrassing that would be?!"

"Actually, no."

"RANGIKU! IF YOU DON'T LET GO, I SWEAR I WILL USE KI-" the tug on my wrist suddenly dissappears and due to unbalanced gravity, I fall flat on my back, "Ow..."

"Gosh Tatomi, how can I dress you up if you can't even show just a little?" says Rangiku, pouting at my fallen form, "We really gotta get you some more confidence. Anyways, you can wear this during our trip to Squad 10's barracks-that's where all my clothes are, you know!"

"What're you going to-" my eyes widen when I see Rangiku unlace her shinigami uniform's belt, "..." Out of the corner of my eye, I see several random subordinates who were wandering through the Serentei stop in their tracks and stare. "LOOK AWAY, YOU PERVERTS!" I say, giving them a death glare. To Rangiku, "You can't be seriou-"

Rangiku smiles at me innocently and takes it off in one swift motion. I squeeze my eyes shut.

"RANGIIKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"

She laughs, "Relax, Tatomi." I open my eyes to see her hand me her black kimono. She herself was sporting a white kimon that was a bit more exposing then the black one she had on, "I wouldn't show myself completely, you know that."

I let out a sigh of relief and put on the kimono, "Arigatou, Rangiku. For the kimono, and for, not, uh, you know."

Rangiku laughs and grabs hold of my wrist again, "Don't fret, Tatomi. You won't be wearing that bland thing for long! Wait until I show you all the different styles in my closet! You're going to be the bombshell at the sake party!"

_Actually, that's pretty much impossible for me to be a bombshell. That's not even my zanpakuto type..._

*******************

"Les voila!" Rangiku says, throwing open her closet door.

It was a good thing that it opened outwards instead of inwards, because we instantly got buried by clothing. It wasn't messy, it was that everything had been packaged and stored with care, and that there were too much clothing.

I look at what had fallen onto me, and pick up a pale yellow dress with a blue ribbon that had a high boat neckline, puff sleeves to the elbows, and it looked like it would reach just above my knee, "This looks kind of, um, nice, Rangiku."

"No!" Rangiku snatches it away from me, and puts it back in the closet, " **I** get to dress you up, Tatomi. And that dress is way too modest. It barely had a neckline! You'll look like some sort of cosplay maid in a sake bar! The sleeves have gotta be shorter at least! Hm...how 'bout a green one so that it'll bring out more of your eye colour...aw darn, I can't find anything green...look at this little thing! I wonder how it got into my closet..."

_What are you thinking?!_

_Okay, so maybe that dress is kinda weird, but you've never worn an actual modern dress, Yokoso. And anyways, I thought you liked the colour yellow?_

_We're not talking 'bout dresses here, Mistress!_

_We're not?_

_No you idiot! Do you know where I am?!_

_Sure I do?_

Yokoso's voice changed to one of exasperation _, what are you doing right now?_

 _Um..._ I surveyed the scene of Rangiku looking through the pile of clothing, chucking most things back into the closet _, I guess you would discribe it as dress up. With Rangiku. And I'm the doll, apparently._

_Sigh. Well, you go ahead and enjoy yourself, mistress. I feel like I'll see you soon enough anyways._

_Wait, where are you? Are you safe?_

_Yeah, you would never guess how safe._ The sarcasm in Yokoso's voice sent a sudden worried pang into me.

_Are you sure?_

_Just kind of missing your company. I wish they'd stop grilling me with questions right now._

_Questions? Okay, where are you? I'm getting you out._

_Well, more like I hope they don't grilll me with questions. Personally, my instincs tell me that this will be for your own good, Tatomi. For you and Byakuya, so I don't really mind._ Yokoso's voice changed to one of mischief.

_YOKOSO! I TOLD YOU-_

_And I told you. Don't worry, I'm safe, I promise._

_Yeah yeah, just don't get into-_

"EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK" Rangiku's screech brought me back to 'reality'. I look up to see her glaring at everything in frustration. "Tatomi," she says, pointing a finger at me, "I'm going to need you to put the things I hand to you back into the closet for me, 'kay?"

I nod, remembering the times we'd clean out her closet when I was younger.

"Great!" says Rangiku, and she starts looking through her clothing again.

*******************

"Rangiku..." I sweatdropped while trying to get her to stop pulling the small black dress over my head, "I really really don't like this one."

"But it's cute!"

"I am not a goth!" 

She shrugged, a blonde curl bouncing off her shoulder, "You'll blend into the night. It looks good on you."

I feel my face flush and fail my arms violently, "I ABHOR THE STUPID THING AND YOU KNOW IT!"

She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Oh, fine. You have to promise to put on this one though. It's the last." I eyed the black dress. Nothing could be worse then this. Even a bumblebee costume would be better.

"I promise."

"Now close your eyes."

"What?!"

"You can open them when I'm done."

"Remind me why I'm letting you play dress-up for so long?" I asked with a smile, and closed my eyes, "Remember the rules, Rangiku. They still apply."

"I know, I know, now, hold still!"

*******************

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

I set Tatomi's zanpakuto onto my desk, and drew out the small box where I had kept the porcelain pieces ever since. _Maybe I could fix it this time,_ I though rather hopefully.

_Good luck, master._

_Senbonzakura. Guard the door._

_Master, if I may..._

_Yes?_

_You'll need me to communicate with Yokoso._

_Then stay._

I opened the box and looked at Tatomi's zanpakuto, then back at the broken porcelain pieces. _Where to start?_ I should probably seal off this room first. "Kekkai number two, Hainawa."

_You should come with me._

_Then lets go._

~~**THIRD PERSON POV** ~~

Byakuya and senbonzakura step into his inner world, the box with the broken porcelain pieces tucked under Byakuya's arm. Not bothering to look around, Byakuya starts walking down the pathway through all the cherry blossoms, with senbonzakura right behind him.

Senbonzakura turns to Byakuya, "I'll bring Yokoso."

Byakuya nods.

~Yokoso's inner world

Yokoso turns as she feels a flash of Senbonzakura's reliastu from outside, and she lets him in.

"You!" Yokoso starts attacking Senbonzakura's mask, "Why the heck am I in your master's possession?!" Senbonzakura doesn't speak, but his wrist flickers, and Yokoso's eyes widen, "Dude, what're you doing?!" Instinctively, her arm dissappears and in it's place is a honeysuckle that blossoms into a room-like thing, with both of them trapped inside. The sakura blades fly around the narrow space.

Senbonzakura's jaw tightens and his eye twitches behind his mask in annoyance, "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing! Don't you come inside and randomly start destroying my inner world you gaki!"

"You need to come with me. To speak with Byakuya." When the honeysuckle room vanished, Senbonzakura took that as an agreement and proceeded to dragging Yokoso to where they could go enter his master's inner world.

Yokoso twists out of his grip and gives him a distrustful look, "Why? And where in the world did my mistress go?!"

"Come on."

"Tell me why or I'm not coming!"

"Stop asking so much questions!" says Senbonzakura, evidently losing his patience quickly.

"Nope. I want to know why."

Senbonzakura sighs, and his hand hits Yokoso's receptacle, making her collaps onto the ground. He picks her up, slinging her over his back, and goes back to his inner world.

~Byakuya's inner world

"She should wake up soon. I didn't knock her out very hard," says Senbonzakura, laying Yokoso down on the path.

They both stand back with emotionless expressions, studying the unconscious Yokoso lying on the path. Her eyes were closed, her ams/filaments splayed out, and the petals behind her back fanning inwards, creating a cushion beneath her. Senbonzakura shifted impatiently, wondering why Yokoso was taking her sweet time to wake up, while Byakuya stood silently.

Finally Senbonzakura lost his patience, "Quit taking you sweet time already, Yokoso!" then, noting the sudden glare Byakuya was giving him for his outburst, Senbonzakura gulped.

"Heh," Yokoso opened one eye, then the other, "I thought you were never going to say that." She smirks, and Senbonzakura's reliatsu flared in annoyance.

"How long were you expecting me to wait for? I counted to ten already in my head!"

"Impressive," Yokoso drawls, "You can count that high? Anyways, that was for knocking me out." She runs a filament over her petals, "Look at what you did. You caused all these wrinkles in my clothes. Oh well, I'll just have to get some water to run through it, then it'll be as good as new."

"If you hadn't asked so much questions, I wouldn't have knocked you out!" says Senbonzakura, his voice rising quickly.

"No way are you going to try to blame this on me, Masky!" yells Yokoso, the tip of her petals turning a dim colour of red.

"Senbonzakura," Byakuya cuts in before things could turn, well, er, um, yeah.

"Sorry." He sighs and takes a deep breath to calm himself, then he turns to Yokoso, "I brought you here because we need some answers."

Yokoso narrows her eyes in suspicion, "Okay. Fine. Fire away, but I'm not garanteeing that I'll answer all-if any-of your questions."

He was about to argue, but Byakuya closes his eyes, "That's fine."

Senbonzakura reaches into his sleeve and pulls out a whole roll of paper, and Yokoso starts laughing. Senbonzakura's eye twitches under his mask again, "DON'T MOCK ME!" he pauses, "First of all, do you by any chance have something to do with a porcelain bracelet? One that had a kitty on it?"

Yokoso stiffens, but she doesn't speak.

"I'll take that as a yes." Senbonzakura looks at the roll of paper again, "Has it been broken before?"

Yokoso doesn't speak.

Senbonzakura continues, "If it has, do you know-"

"Why are you asking me this?" Yokoso's voice is soft, but weary.

"I caused it to be broken," says Byakuya, his stoical features unreadable, his jawline hard, "I want to fix it."

"..." Yokoso looks at them both, her eyes brimming with tears that were threatening to fall, "That's impossible. You can't fix it without the pieces, Byakuya, Senbonzakura. Plus, didn't I tell you already, Senbonzakura? I've forgiven you two. I truly have," honesty sparkled in her eyes, "It was an accident. It happened a long time ago. I live in the present, not the past."

"I have the pieces," says Byakuya, revealing the box he was holding, "Or at least, some of them. I have tried piecing them back together on my own, but nothing worked. They simply fell apart again."

"I tried everything that might work on a zanpakuto if it was broken," says Senbonzakura, "They didn't work. Will you help us put it back together again, Yokoso?"

Yokoso stared at them both, her eyes wide.

"Yokoso?" Senbonzakura shook her gently, "You alright?"

Yokoso nods slowly and takes out something that had been tucked inside her bodice for so long, "I think I have the piece that you were missing." She puts it inside the box, along with the rest of the pieces. "But..." a tear leaks down her cheeks, "Repairing it doesn't work that way. That bracelet is a part of Mistress's zanpakuto. The bracelet stabalizes me when I use up a lot of reliatsu, so that I wouldn't lose control. If you've seen my abilities, you'd understand. It stabalizes it so that my form doesn't fall apart."

"I don't get it," Senbonzakura's hand tightens into a fist, "I still don't get it. Why can't you fix it? The pieces are there, aren't they?"

Yokoso shakes her head, "If I piece it together now, it won't be the same as before' it'll have the scars from where it had fallen apart. Yes, it 'stabalizes' me a bit more, but it's very risky. It would endanger my Mistress's life if she isn't careful with her usage of reliatsu. I cannot do that."

Byakuya holds out the box to her, "Then keep it."

Senbonzakura nods, "It's yours. It has always been yours. That will not change."

Yokoso nods, and clutches the box tightly, "Arigatou gozaimasu."

Senbonzakura turns to Byakuya, "Master, you should head back. There's still a lot of work for you to complete." Byakuya vanishes, and Senbonzakura turns back to Yokoso, "I'll walk you back, but I feel like there still is something you're not telling me."

Yokoso looks at him, "You must promise to never tell your Master. It is something that may happen, but it only has a chance if neither of them knew."

Senbonzakura pauses for a moment, then nods, "Okay."

"When my mistress heals inwardly as well as outwardly, the bracelet will heal and return to it's original form. But only then."

*******************

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

"Rangiku...I know you're done. Can't I have a look?"

"Yeah, yeah, hang on." There's a rustling sound, then Rangiku takes off the blindfold.

"Rangiku!"

"What?" she says innocently.

"How'm I suppose to see myself? There's no mirror!"

Rangiku laughs, "Have faith in my skills!"

I narrow my eyes at her, "Okay...as long as nothing is exposing." I look down, scanning the dress I wore from head to toe. The dress was kind of short-three inches from my knees in fact, an A shaped skirt, and it was sleeveless, with two straps. It was pretty shade of pastel pink. _Yokoso would probably dissapprove, wherever she is..._

"Well?" Rangiku says with a smile, "Like how you look?"

"How'm I suppose to know how I look when I can't even see my relfection?!" I grumble. A smile slowly works it's way to my face, "But the dress is really nice."

"Great!" Rangiku gestures to herself, "Now, how do I look? Ne, hot as always, eh?"

My eye twitches when I realize that Rangiku was also dressed up, "You..." I glare at her, "You made me sit there for hours with a blindfold on just so you could dress yourself?!"

Rangiku waved the comment away as if it was nothing, "C'mon, let's go and say hello to Ukitake-taichou before we head to the sake party!"

"Jushiro-san is a taichou now?!" I pause, "Time sure flies, eh? I'm glad you didn't change much though."

"MASUMOTO!" calls a voice from the doorway. We turn to see Toshiro standing there, and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees, "If you're done playing, you should get to your paperwork."

"Oh, um, heh, heh," Rangiku tugs at a strand of loose hair, "About that..." she takes my wrist and runs out the door, "Bye taichou!"

"MASUMOTO!"

"COME TO THE SAKE PARTY, TOSHIR-KAWAI!" I say before going into shunpo. It was a good thing this dress could stand shunpo, or else Rangiku would probably kill me for ruining it.

*******************

~~**THIRD PERSON POV** ~~

The captain of the thirteenth squad sat in the chaise, his eyes closed.

"Er, Taichou," says his subordinate, kneeling down in front of him, "How are you feeling?"

Jushiro Ukitake let out a smile, "Better than usual. Why?" suddenly, he sensed two familiar reliatsus waiting outside the front door. One was of lieutenant Masumoto's, but the other one was one he couldn't place a name on. He knew who this person was, but what was their name again?

"Er, you have two visitors. A friendly visit."

Ukitake nodded, curious now, "Yes, thank you. They can come in."

"Ukitake-taichou, how are you feeling?" Ukitake smiles a friendly smile at the cheery blond/ginger head woman who appeared. "I really hope you don't mind our little intrusion here. We just wanted to take the chance of my extended break to come and say hello!" Rangiku paused, seeing Ukitake's slightly confused smile at the word 'we'. "Eh, Ukitake-taichou, you don't recognize her either? Weren't you guys suppose to be okay friends-?" Rangiku paused, finally realizing there was no one behind her.

"Masumoto-san," says Ukitake rather slowly, "Did you by any chance drink some sake before you came?"

Rangiku shook her head and started twisting around, "Ne, come out already! Quit hiding behind me! Ukitake-taichou's nice, remember? You wanted to say hi, didn't you?"

"Iie, Rangiku. You were the one who made me dress up like this and come here," said a muffled voice behind her. Ukitake's eyes widened, _he knew this voice._ Then he heard, much more quietly, "Anyways, he's a taichou now. Taichos are scary. Byakuya wasn't scary before, but now he's kinda scary too."

Rangiku rolled her eyes, "Weren't you scared of Byakuya for a while even when you were little, Tatomi-chan?"

"Ta-to-mi?" Ukitake said slowly.

The figure steps out from behind Rangiku and tugs at a loose strand of hair nervously. Her emerald eyes met Ukitake's nervously, and Ukitake gaped in suprise. The facial expression was the same one she wore every time she saw Ukitake, since he was mostly around Byakuya, and everything was the same-except she got taller, and grew. "Good afternoon, Ukitake-sa-taichou."

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

"Good afternoon, Ukitake-sa-taichou." I felt my body tense with nervousness, waiting for his reaction.

Ukitake-san smiled, and my nervousness dissappeared, of course he was the same, "Where did the 'Jushir-san' you always used go? And where's my hug?" I smiled and covered the distance between us in two steps, leaped forward and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you, Jushir-san," I said, pulling back with a smile, "You don't know how much people I bothered for so many years, begging them to tell me a story. Urahara-san got tired of it first and made me work in the shop instead. So I begged the customers for a story. But that didn't go very well...you know, now that I think about it, you were the only one who could cope with all of my questions. Even Kaien-san got tired of it in the end!"

Ukitake laughed, then his expression sobered, "Tatomi, I'm not sure if you know this already, but Kaien's-"

"I know," I said, cutting Jushir-san off before he could say the word, "Ichigo kinda told me."

"Oh," Jushiro looks down for a moment, then back up again with his usual easy smile, "Souka. How have you been, Tatomi-chan?" then, noting my dress, he says, "Are you going somewhere tonight?"

"She's coming to my sake party," says Rangiku, winking at Ukitake as if it was some sort of inside joke, "And we're going to have fun, aren't we?" Rangiku laughs at her own question, squeals with delight and glomps me again.

"R-Rangiku-san..." I said weakly, "Ano...I think I might not-"

"ByeBye Ukitake-taichou!" Rangiku takes hold of my wrist again, and proceeds to pulling me away, "Don't wanna be late for the sake party and dissappoint all the guests!"

Jushir-san waved goodbye at us, smiling cheerfully when I shot him a desperate look, "Okay, have fun you two! I'll tell Byakuya if he comes looking for you, Tatomi!"

"Why would Byakuya come looking for me?"

Rangiku shruggs, "Maybe he secretly has the hots for you?" She paused, stopping in mid-shunpo and nearly letting us both crash into a wall, "Oopsie-daisies. Lets get going, shall we?" she giggles to herself, "There's gonna be LOTS of sake~!"

I groaned, _what am I getting myself into?_

~~**3rd Person POV** ~~

"T-this is the place?" Tatomi asks slowly, staring at the building sceptically.

The shadows that could be seen due to the bright light suggested that there were A LOT of people there. _I can't believe Nee-san wasted time to go into a place like that..._ Tatomi sweatdropped to herself. _I'm suprised Nee-san was able to go more than once...You'd think the bar tender would've kicked her out already. Afterall, Nee-san was known for teaching idiots a lesson when she had her share of sake-which was kind of the opposite for myself..._

Rangiku winked at her happily, "Ne, Tatomi, don't be decieved by the outside! It's much more lively in there!" she grabs my wrist and flings open the door with the other hand, "C'mon, time for me to introduce you to all my other friends!" Rangiku tugged, but Tatomi didn't move. "Ne, Tatomi, c'mon!"

"..." Tatomi's eyes had widened and cold sweat dripped down her back as she stared at the inside of the bar. So much shinigamis. _Kuso. This. -_

"TATOMI!" Rangiku shoved her face into Tatomi's ears, "YOU PROMISED!"

Tatomi cringed, her hand rubbing her sore ear, "What was that for, Rangiku-chan? Ano...I don't think.." she catches sight of a familiar shinigami wearing a flower kimono and a straw hat, "I don't think I'm ready to meet everyone again..."

Rangiku rolls her eyes. She had heard this a million times already. "Hmm...I think, they even have some dragonfruit flavoured sake inside?" she said, keeping her face straight as much as possible.

Tatomi perked up, "There is?"

"Um, yes!"

"Wellllllllllll," Tatomi said slowly, "Okay...just don't make a fuss-" she stopped short when she realized that Rangiku had already pulled her inside the bar, and had yelled at everyone to shut their traps. Uh...

"Hi!" yelled Rangiku, raising Tatomi's hand up in the air, "Arigatou for coming, everyone! Before you all pass out from the sake-and me too-I want to introduce you all to a dear friend of mine!"

Everyone's stares turned to the girl next to her who was wearing a pastel pink dress and who was trying to hide behind Rangiku's back while her hand was stuck in a death grip. The attempt was kind of successful, since Rangiku's blossoms where blocking most of her identification features. The shinigamis' heads all tilted, who was this?

"Everyone," Rangiku paused dramatically, not noticing the half-hidden guest of honor, "Lets have a welcome toast to...TATOMIN!"

The place was momentarily filled with a hearty roar, and the walls trembled for a moment at the impact. The bar tender shrugged, as long as the guests were enjoying it and drinking, it didn't really matter-or did it?

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

The frightning pace my heart had been racing at slowed a bit as most people started drinking and minding their own business. That was so embarrassing. Why did I even come? Oh, yeah, Rangiku said something about dragonfruit sake...that's right. That might be able to convince me to forgive Rangiku.

"Rangiku-chan," I said, turning to her, "Where's the dra-"

"Oh, HAHAHAHAA" Rangiku gives me a bright smile and then proceeds to melt into the crowd of shinigami, "Have fun, Tatomi-chan!"

"..." I stared after her, wanting to yell at her for leaving me alone. Wait, no. Dragonfruit sake. Right. Let's go and look for that... I turned around and bumped into a flowery kimono.

"Tatomi-chan!"

I looked up, confused, then broke into a smile and glomped the shinigami, "Shunsui-kun!" Remembering the long time skip I went through, having stayed away for so long, I let go and suddenly felt awkward, "Um...sorry..for leaving-"

"It's okay," Shunsui (a.k.a. Kyoraku-taichou) patted me on the head, "Just don't go away without telling us again."

I smiled and laughed along with him, "Hey, Shunsui-kun, do you know where the Dragonfruit flavoured sake is?" I looked up at him, and saw him give me a strange look. "shunsui-kun?"

"Uh, Tatomi-chan," Shunsui visibly sweatdrops in front of me, "There is no such thing as dragonfruit flavoured sake."

Eh? I gave Shunsui a look of utter incomprehension. Then it finally hit me. He was not lying. "AAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG" I growled under my breath, my eyes searching the whole bar, "Rangiku imma find you..." _Where in the world_ -then I saw two big blossoms peeking out from behind Shunsui. The corner of my lips raised slightly. _Target found._

The little welcome party around me were giving me strange looks.

"RANGIKU-CHAN THERE YOU ARE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and launched myself at Shunsui's head. Barely clearing the hurdle, I tackled Rangiku and we both fell onto the ground. I grabbed the bottle of sake from her hand and threw it randomly towards the little welcome party.

"Ne, Tatomi-chan!" Rangiku protested, watching her precious bottle of sake soar into some shinigami's hand, "Why'd you-"

"You. Lied. To. Me."

Someone started laughing in the background and a tick mark appeared on my forehead. I turned to see Renji holding the bottle of sake. Renji. Abarai.

"THATS NOT FUNNY, MR. RED-PINEAPPLE-HEADED-SHINIGAMI!" I yelled.

He smirked, "Who knew you'd be so gullible?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "How did Rangiku's sake end up in your hands, anyways? Did you molest her for it or something?"

"N-NANI?!" anger veins started appearing all over Renji's forehead, "YOU WERE THE ONE WHO THREW IT AT ME!"

"W-what're you talking about?! I'm not stupid enough to throw it at you!" I yelled. I launched myself at him, wanting to hit his head but failed horribly due to the 15 cm height difference. I hit him on the shoulder, and ended up hurting my hand instead. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, MR. RED-PINEAPPLE-HEADED-SHINIGAMI, GROW SHORTER OR SOMETHING!

"HOW THE HECK IS SOMEONE SUPPOSE TO GROW SHORTER?! AND WHY'RE YOU ARGUING WITH ME?! GOD, YOU'RE LIKE THAT KITTEN I HAD TO TAKE CARE OF FOR TAICHOU!"

"TAKE CARE OF?! YOU CALL THAT TAKING CARE OF A KITTY?! YOU STARVED IT, MORE OR LESS MOLESTED IT AND YOU EVEN FORGOT ABOUT SHUNPO RULE NUMBER FOUR AND-mumph" I choked on the hand Renji had placed on my mouth.

He gives me the most suspicious look, his eyebrows/tattoos frowning in a way that made it almost comical to look at him. Renji took a gulp of sake, "How do you know about that?"

I rolled my eyes, "Why don't you take a guess, genius? It shouldn't take a fukotaichou too long to figure it out."

Renji narrowed his eyes even more in response.

Rangiku looked between us and finally said, "Isn't it obvious? Tatomi is Shihoine-san's cousin. She has a kitten form."

Renji's eyes bulge and he nearly chokes on the sake he had half swallowed. Renji stares at me incredously, "Are you serious? You were the kitten?"

"More or less, yes."

~Awkward silence~

The silence is broken when I'm glomped by a hug from Rukia.

"Thank goodness!" says Rukia, her eyes shining with relief/happiness, "I'm so glad!" She continues, explaining, "When Renji, Ichigo and I returned from our mission, I couldn't find the kitten anywhere. Nii-sama told me not to worry, but I thought...I thought maybe the kitten had been unhappy and ran away or something." She gives me a beaming smile, "This is awesome! That means we technically already know eachother!"

I returned Rukia's geniune smile with one of my own,"That's right. One less stranger at this party!" I surveyed the rest of the group. A baldy, some feminine guy with feathers, a tall dude with bells in his hair and a scary face, a pink-haired girl, a guy with the number 69 tattooed on his face, and a shinigami with orange hair, "So who are these people anyways?"

The shinigami with orange hair's eyes bulge and out of the corner of my eye I see both Renji and Rukia sweatdrop, "You don't know me?" he says sceptically. I shook my head.

"Who are you?"

The shinigami grabs me by the shoulders and give me a hard shake, "What the-DID YOU GET AMNESIA OR SOMETHING, TATOMI?! HOW COME YOU REMEMBER THAT IDIOT _*points to Renji*_ AND NOT ME?! IT'S ICHIGO, ICHIGO KUROSAKI! THE SHINIGAMI YOU TRIED TO KNOCK OUT WHEN WE FIRST MET, AFTER RENJI GOT HIS ARSE KICKED BY A STUPID HOLLOW!" _Huh?_

"H-Hey!" Renji protests in the background, "The hollow poisoned me!"

"Um..." I frown at the orange-headed shinigami, trying hard to remember, "Your name sounds familiar...um... Oh, are you that guy who-OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HIIII ICHIGO!" then I turned to the rest of the people, "Anyways, who are YOU guys?"

*******************

* * *

 

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

I slip on my captain's haori and tuck Senbonzakura in my belt. Best to go prepared. I took a step to the door then paused. I looked at Tatomi's zanpakuto. After a moment of hesitation, I tuck it in my belt as well. Stepping out of the manor, I shift my pace to shunpo.

~~**3rd PERSON POV** ~~

Shunsui looked up when he heard the bar's door open. He did a double take when he saw Byakuya enter the bar.

 _Well then...Byakuya eh?...Did I drink too much already?_ thought Shunsui to himself. Byakuya's face masked into one of pure disgust yet a bland emotionless look as he surveyed the room.

"Shunsui," he said in his emotionless voice, slightly nodding to the captain.

There was no mistake. It was Byakuya. "Konbanwa, Byakuya," says Shunsui smiling happily and greeting Byakuya with a friendly wave, "I take it you're not here to drink, are you?"

Byakuya's eyes search the bar a few times, "Iie. Where is Tatomi?"

Shunsui paused, a questioning atmosphere settling between them too.

Byakuya sighs, "Do you know where she is?"

Suddenly, Shunsui felt a tug of amusement, and he took of his hat and gestured to the 'dance floor', "Over there somewhere I think."

Byakuya's eyes widened, _did I not look there several time's already?_ Then the crowd parted a bit and he saw her spinning around happily like a little kid with Yumichika, her ponytail flying playfully. _Her dress..._

"She looks pretty tonight," Shunsui remarks innoncently. Byakuya gives him a look, and Shunsui smiles back at him, "What?"

"...Betsuni." Byakuya turns and leans slightly against the wall, watching the scene unfold.

"Wheeeeeeeeee!" Tatomi squealed, twirling around Yumichika in circles. Yumichika smiles and, due to the affect of sake, starts jumping up and down to the music. Tatomi, sensing the change in mood, starts bouncing up and down on her tippy toes. Not looking at the floor, Tatomi half jumps/half trips over Renji's foot, and falls onto the ground.

The music keeps blaring and Yumichika, still under the affect of sake, keeps on bouncing and passes out on the ground.

Renji keeps on dancing, unaware of Tatomi on the ground. She angrily watches him for a few minutes before aiming a fist at Renji's ankle, sending him sprawling across the floor. Byakuya's eyes widened. "Oi, what was that for!" yells Renji, turning to face an angry Tatomi.

"You tripped me, pineapple-baka," she says in response, her chin sticking out dangerously, "You weren't even gentlemanly enough to apologize."

"...Is that even a word?"

"That's not the point!" she pauses, "Why're you even on the dance floor, Pineapple-baka? You can't even dance properly; you're gonna end up being hazardous to everyone.."

Byakuya's eyes drifted towards his fukotaichou, who now had a bunch of anger veins popping over his face, "WHAT?! WHADDYA KNOW ABOUT REAL DANCING?!"

Tatomi smirks, "All I know is that your dancing is worse than your kido. If you want me to remind you how I know that, it's because-"

"Ne, Tatomi-chan," Rangiku pops up and slings a friendly arm around Tatomi and waves a bottle of sake in her face, "Why are you not drinking? It's my sake party and you're not drinking..." she pouts.

"Demo, Rangiku-chan, I told you, I don't drink," Tatomi says, eyeing her friend wearily.

Rangiku sighs, then perks up, "I know , you and Abarai shall dance together! If you fall over first, you have to drink! If Renji falls over first, he can't drink!"

EH?! Tatomi felt Renji twitch beside her, and they both open their mouths at the same time to argue, "BUT-"

"Ne, Hisagi-kun, don't you think that's a good idea?" says Rangiku, turning to the shinigami with the number 69 tatooed on his face. She squishes up her blossoms together and leans as close as possible to him, causing Hisagi's nose to leak a tad of red. He sputters and manages to nod, memorized by Rangiku.

The song suddenly changes into a very upbeat one, and Rangiku grins at the now horrified Tatomi and Renji, "Even the song agrees! There's no one that doesn't approve!" Byakuya's eye twitches at this, but he doesn't really count. "Go!" and with that, Rangiku and Hisagi each pick up Renji and Tatomi, "AND ONE TWO THREE DANCE!"

A suddenly almost evil look works its way to Renji's face and he grins, grabs Tatomi's hand and starts the first step to the only dance he knew. Tatomi grabs his hand rather cheerfully and starts spinning around like a little kid again. "Oi. watcha doing?!" he yells, trying to avoid Tatomi's ponytail that would nearly almost hit his face, "That's not proper dancing!"

She pauses and throws him a hauty look, "Well, there's no way I'm dancing like YOU." They both glare at eachother and then, seeming to have come to a silent agreement, Renji grabs her hand and they start jumping up and down like idiots.

Byakuya stares at them, feeling a prickle of annoyance at this. Tatomi was obviously hyper now, and if this proceeded, it would make his 'looking after her' job from Yoruichi much more difficult. He took a step forward to intrude before things went downhill, but nearly crashed into a certain orange-headed shinigami.

"Oh sorry I-Byakuya!" Ichigo's eyes widened and immediately lets go of Rukia whom he had been dancing with, "What're you doing here?!"

Byakuya narrows his eyes at Ichigo, and then his eyes drift towards Rukia. She looked like she was happy. Maybe he'd let them get away for once. Plus, the panic in Ichigo's eyes were priceless.

"FALL ALREADY!" Rangiku and Hisagi scream in sink, and tackle the dancing pair whom were jumping like idiots for like 10 minutes now. They fall, and two screams were heard.

"RANGIKU-CHAN THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"HISAGI YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR SETTING MY SAKE LIMITS!"

Rangiku giggles and takes the bottle of sake and pours a little into a cup. Byakuya freezes. "Just a little bit, Tatomi-chan?"

"..." Tatomi looks at the cup, then at the tiny bit of sake inside. Without waiting for Tatomi's answers, Rangiku takes hold of Tatomi and pours the little bit of sake into her mouth. Tatomi chokes, going red then pink, "...R-rangiku..chan..."

Rangiku grins brightly at her, "See? Wasn't so bad! Don't worry, if you pass out at the very end someone will eventually get you."

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

*******************

"..So I walked in and they were like 'huh' and I'm like hahahahahahahaha!" says Rangiku, pausing to take a swing from her bottle.

I rolled my eyes and back away from the crowd around Rangiku's little storytelling/dramatizing. _This sake...I only drank a small cup, but... There was already a light throbbing at the back of my head...I want to go home...to Byakuya...wait no, that's not right...I want to lie down...I'm not good with sake...Byakuya knows that but it's not like he's here right now...why did I let her give it to me?_ The world tilts and then steadies as I feel someone's arms around me, steadying my footing. Byakuya. "Ano, Rangiku-san, I should probably leave now. You know I can't handle sake very well..."

"No...why?!" Rangiku attemps to glomp me but fails and passes out instead on the floor.

"RANGIKU-CHAN!" I bent down and shook her. Kuso, she really passed out this time. I pick up her arm and slings it over my shoulder, and attemps to carry her.

"What're you doing?" asks Byakuya, steadying me as I nearly collaps under the weight of her blossoms.

"Taking her to her barracks." Byakuya looks at me wordlessly before following me out and to the squad 10 barracks.

*******************

Sigh. I looked at Rangiku's sleeping form on the futon before stepping out the door to go back to...back to wherever, I guess. My stomach revolted. Darn. A flash of panic ran through me and I made to shunpo out but crashed into someone instead.

"Byakuya!" I looked up, steadying myself and my stomach, "What're you-how-why are you still here?" The world tilted, and I grabbed onto his arm to steady myself. I paused, "No, wait, don't answer that." I gulped, trying to keep down the sake that was now threatening to come out.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes at me for a few moments before walking out.

"Nani, Byakuya?! Why're you acting all silent and moody?"

"I am not acting silent and moody," Byakuya opens the door, "Are you coming?"

"You mean I can stil-" I shunpoed over beside him before clamping a hand over my mouth. "...Arigatou, Byakuya. It seems that you can still be nice, even when you're all silent and moody." I smirk at him before my stomach churns and my hand goes back to my mouth.

"..." Byakuya eyes me suspiciously, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, just don't use shunpo or I might end up throwing up all over you..."

We step out and walk back in silence. Our footsteps echo on the path, and I breath in the chilly cool night air, trying to keep my head clear until I could pass out fully on a bed.

_Mistress..._

_Yokoso! Ow...my poor ear...don't scream so loud... You don't have a ear-not really anyways...um, you sound kinda strange, is everything okay? Kind of...look, I'll tell you the important part later, but right now, it's going to rain soon. You're going to tell me the important part later? Does that even make sen-oh, it's going to rain. Shoot. Can you hold it off for like 10 more minutes? I think we're going to reach the manor pretty soon. Has the sake affected you so much already? *aside*why do I have a mistress who cannot tolerate sake? *to Tatomi* I'm not some weather zanpakuto, mistress. That's why I told you._

As if on cue, something wet and cold falls ontop of my head. I look up to see something wet drip down Byakuya's cheeks. Seizing the opportunity, I opened my mouth to say

"You're crying," we both said at the same time, and then, "It's raining, you idiot."

I laughed and tugged at his hair playfully, "You did that on purpose. You're such a child, Bya-bo," I mocked in a hurt voice, using the nickname Nee-san gave to Byakuya.

"..."

The rain felt so nice as it dripped down my hair, soaking my dress and drenching my back. It was like it was cleansing everything that had happened, repairing all the bonds that had been broken for so long... A slight scent of Byakuya swirled around me, and I study the ground, _well almost all the broken bonds..._

Something warm wraps around me and I blink. Byakuya's heirloom scarf was wrapped around my shoulders. "What're you doing, Byakuya?!" I said, unwrapping it frantically. A cool hand stops me.

"You were shivering."

I glared back at him, "I'm not cold." A cold breeze blows by and I sneeze. Traitor.

"..." Byakuya wraps it around me again, giving me a look that dared me to argue with him.

"You're just going to get cold yourself, baka," I said, ducking out of his grasp.

"I am not featherbrained," said Byakuya, giving me a hard look, "Stay still." I raised my eyebrows at him, as if to say 'or what?'. "Or I'll bind you with kido."

I bit my lip and waited until he had finished wrapping it around me before unwrapping one end and wrapping it around him. "It's only fair, since it's your scarf," I said pointedly. Taking Byakuya's silence as a truce, I started walking again and nearly tripped over my own feet and the world tilted. I felt Byakuya's arm wrap around my waist and I fell back into his chest instead of faceplanting myself. _So warm.._ my eyelids started to droop and I suddenly had the urge to just snuggle into _-WAIT NO THAT'S THE AFFECT OF SAKE!_ I took a cautious step away to distance myself and took a few breaths to calm the seesawing world.

"..." Byakuya closed his eyes and then opened them, "Brace yourself."

My eyes widened. _Byakuya, you're not going to_ \- I opened my mouth to yell at him, but clamped it shut again as the world and everything else blurred. A few seconds later, we had stopped just inside of the Kuchiki manor. There was just enough time for me to realize we were in the living room before my stomach churned and rebelled at the same time. Urp. I clamped my hand over my mouth and forced reliatsu to flow roughly into my legs. _Memory don't fail me now!_ I zoomed into the bathroom not even bothering to lock the door, and threw up.

I drew back, gasping a few times before my stomach churned again.

*******************

Damm. I drew in a few ragged breaths, rinsed my mouth before stumbling wearily to a new room where I had felt Byakuya's reliatsu from. _Byakuya's room? Eh?_ I leaned on the wall as the world started spinning once again. _Oh well, who cares..._

"I'll send someone to prepare the guest room next door."

I shook my head, barely conscious of the fact that Byakuya started towards the doorway, "Iie," I said touching his arm, "I'll be fine." Everything blurred in front of me. _What now?_ I thought in annoyance. My legs gave away and my face came in contact with something soft and warm. I rolled onto my back and looked up to see two Byakuya's staring in shock. _So soft..and kind of warm too..._ "I'll be fine here, Byakuya..." my eyes grew heavier and darkness drenched my vision.

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

I stared at Tatomi's sleeping form on the floor. Precisely speaking, the rug. My eyebrow knitted in annoyance. This will not do. I sighed in exasperation and bent down, picking up her sleeping form. I hear a muffled sigh and her head tilts towards my kimono.

_If you do anything to Mistress I will not forgive you!_

_Urusai, Master would never do that without her consent!_

_...okay then..._

_What do you mean, okay then?!_

Her breath was warm and it puffed out gently. She shivered slightly, reminding me that she was still in her wet dress. Uh oh. I was going to have to...shoot.

I set her down gently on the bed and went, found a rather large shirt that would probably cover her up to her knees. A modest length. But then again, what I was about to do for her would probably result in a week of not speaking to me at all. _Master...are you sure it's a good idea? She will fall sick otherwise. Master... It's nothing. Just something for a good friend._

Gingerly, I lifted the dress up and over her head. My eyes widened. _Tatomi was...beautiful..._ Pushing that thought out of my head, I slipped the oversized T-shirt over her and tucked the blankets around her sleeping form. _Betsuni. This warm feeling in my heart-Betsuni._ Crawling in on the otherside, I layed so that my back was to her. I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

Warm...I groan, why was my pillow so hard? I shift my head into a more comfortable comfortable position and pause. Something shifts beside me. _Hm? Wait...Rangiku...dress-up...sake-bar...throw-up...squad 10 barracks...ugh...what happened next...um...I guess I fell asleep in squad 10...that seems kind of right..._

_Mistress._

_What._

_Time to get up._

_Do I have to? Wait, no, don't answer that._ I roll my eyes, Yokoso's victorious smirk popping in my head, and I sit up, throwing away the blankets.

"Tatomi?"

"?" I look to my left and feel the blood drain away from my face, "B-Byakuya!?"

Byakuya looks at me for a moment, then closes his eyes.

"..." I sweatdropped as Byakuya's breathing evens out, and I give him a hard shove, "What're you doing, Byakuya?! Get up already! Why are you in Squad 10's barracks, anyways?!"

Byakuya shoots me a glare but gets up and reaches for the kenseikens on the bedside table. To my annoyance, he slowly puts one on, taking care that every single thing was perfect. Then he spends practically two hours putting in the next.

"Quit it already, Byakuya!" I snap, taking the third and quickly fastening it into place, "Now go and get yourself out of here before Rangiku wakes up and gets any ideas!"

Byakuya's narrowed into slits, "And how would she be able to enter?"

I grit my teeth, "Oh my gawd Byakuya just LEAVE and quit being an idiot! How can Rangiku NOT be able to access this room?!" I yelled, waving my arms around, "It's the Squad 10 barracks, isn't it?" _Um..._ _What is it, Yokoso?!_ _Mistress..._ Yokoso laughs, _I think you're really losing it..._ _Shut up and help me get him out of here!_

"Tatomi," Byakuya gets up and I swear he smirks at me.

"What?" I ask rather irritably.

Silence.

"You truly do not know?" he says after a few seconds

"Know what?"

"...You are in the Kuchiki manor, Tatomi," he turns his back to me and exit the room, "There is a kimono that should fit you in the drawer next to the wall."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omake:
> 
> Rangiku: Unexpectable! I want to dress up now. Stupid author, stupid, lazy, author, lazy people are so annoying. 
> 
> Author: ..You're suppose to be on my side...
> 
> Rangiku: Are you calling me lazy?! I am not lazy; I put A LOT of effort into making my natural beauty shine.
> 
> Toshiro: If Masumoto doesn't finish her paperwork, I'll tell Sou-taichou it was you.
> 
> Author: You're her Taichou, take responsibility, child. 
> 
> Byakuya:...*death glare*
> 
> Author: *stares back at him blankly*
> 
> Byakuya: *pulls out senbonzakura*
> 
> Tatomi: Why is this happening to me?!
> 
> Rukia: *looks around the place* Nii-sama, where's the kitten?
> 
> Ichigo: What kitten?
> 
> Rukia: *smacks him on the head*
> 
> Renji: Oh well. We should all thank the lord for getting rid of the violent furball- *received a kick in the gut from Tatomi* OWWWWW I was talking 'bout the kitten, not you!


	7. A shaky foundation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are an ocean away,  
> Letting you drift was my mistake.  
> I told you 'no', that I wouldn't stay,  
> The thought of you with another keeps me awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which they catch up to each other.

"...You are in the Kuchiki manor, Tatomi," he turns his back to me and exit the room, "There is a kimono that should fit you in the drawer next to the wall."

This was the what- _are you kidding me!? Yokoso! Help me out already! What is it? Just go get changed already. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo how the heck did I end up in the Kuchiki Manor?! I thought I was at Squad 10? ...just hurry up and change already. Then I can tell you about- CHANGE?! Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. I shall change. But first, I gotta go back to the Shihoine manor. I. Am. Not. Staying. Here._

I pause and get into shunpo but something that I can't see trips me and next thing you know I'm sprawled onto the floor. _...Yokoso? Why in the world of all Koi fish did you trip me? IF YOU HAD HURRIED UP AND CHANGED YOU WOULD KNOW BY NOW! KNOW WHAT? ...just hurry up and change. ...okay, I guess I'll walk_

"..." Byakuya's reliatsu grows just a tad stronger.

I look up to see Byakuya standing a few feet away, giving me his emotionless stare.

"...I'm going to the Shihoine manor to change," I say finally, picking myself up from the floor.

~~**Byakuya's POV** ~~

I focus my gaze onto her face instead of what she was still wearing. I suppress a smirk of amusement. Despite her current condition, she still had not noticed what she was wearing. I hoped to keep it that way. I did not wish to disturb the peace of this quiet peaceful morning.

~~**Tatomi's POV** ~~

Byakuya looks at me wordlessly before-to my horror-taking off his dark blue yukata.

"H-Hey what do you think you're doing?!" I sputter, turning away from Byakuya, "Don't strip-"

"Bakkudo number 61, Rikujokoro."

 _Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_ Byakuya drapes one side of his yukata over me and then the other. _Now I can't even close my eyes..._ He walks in front of me to tie the sash and I mentally brace myself for-wait. I mentally sighed in relief. Byakuya had been wearing a white yukata underneath.

But that relief quickly turned into annoyance. As soon as he released me, I frowned at him and crossed my arms, "What is wrong with you." _Who's the silent and moody one now? Silent and moody? That sounds kind of familiar..._

_*Nani, Byakuya?! Why're you acting all silent and moody?"_

_"I am not acting silent and moody," Byakuya opens the door, "Are you coming?"_

_"You mean I can stil-" I shunpoed over beside him before clamping a hand over my mouth. "...Arigatou, Byakuya. It seems that you can still be nice, even when you're all silent and moody." I smirk at him before my stomach churns and my hand goes back to my mouth._

_"..." Byakuya eyes me suspiciously, "Are you sure you're alright?"_

_"Yeah, yeah, just don't use shunpo or I might end up throwing up all over you..."_

_We step out and walk back in silence. Our footsteps echo on the path, and I breath in the chilly cool night air, trying to keep my head clear until I could pass out fully on a bed.*_

_Oh...so that's how I ended up here... *sighs* so you've finally remembered? *aside* why is my mistress such an idiot?_

"You are not a child," says Byakuya. We both pause for a moment as a silence settles in, both of us glaring at eachother. He breaks the silence first. "Have you lost your decency?"

"I told you," I say slowly, still glaring at him, "I was going to go change at the Shihoine manor. It's not my fault if you didn't hear me. Have you lost your hearing?"

Byakuya's reliatsu changes a bit, showing his annoyance, "..."

"Not going to show you're annoyance, Byakuya?" _Mistress, calm down!_ I ignore Yokoso and continue, "You're sure different now. If you were like this back then, it wouldn't have gotten broken and I wouldn't have stayed away-" _MISTRESS CALM DOWN FOR FISH SAKE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU TODAY?! DID YOU NOT GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP OR WHAT?_

"..." Byakuya eyes me, his expression unreadable, "Well?"

I bit my lip and study the ground, "...betsuni." Silence. I build up the courage to glance up and realize the intensity in Byakuya's violet eyes had increased. "...I told you, betsuni...why can't you believe me?!"

"Because you and I both know it's a lie. After you answer this, I will have to ask you why you are lying to me," says Byakuya in a monotone voice. Monotone to outsiders. If you listen closely, you'd here anger and frustration mixed in with it.

"Betsuni."

"No it is not," says Byakuya, the afterthought 'or else you wouldn't have made that outburst' lingering in the air.

"Everything is alright now. I lost my temper. Gomen. It's betsuni."

"Look at me and say that."

"No."

"Why?"

"Why do I have to?"

"Why can't you?"

"You don't trust me."

"Of course I don't trust you! I ask you if you're cold and you say no when you are! I ask you if you're alright and you say yes when you're not! I ask you why you've been staying away for so long and you tell me it's nothing! It isn't nothing!" Byakuya pauses and I feel his hand wipe away something wet from my cheeks, "I want to know what has been hurting you ever since that day you left the Serentei."

"Betsuni."

"Then our friendship must be betsuni too."

"It isn't!"

"Then why-"

"Betsuni."

"Therefore if I tell you that I love you-"

"Our friendship isn't betsuni!" I say, my voice cracking a bit.

"Give me one good reason why it's not."

"It's been broken but that doesn't m-" _Mistress!_ I gasp and clap my hands over my mouth. _Not again!_ The world tilts for a moment then rights itself. _The sake must still be in affect-_ _Mistress, I'm telling you, you need to-_

"You stayed away for a reason."

"Nee-san told you." _Mistress listen to me! I just got it back and it's really delicate right now because I'm trying to-anyways, you need to calm-_ "The vizards."

"There was another one. Was it because I broke the brac- "

"BETSUNI! I TOLD YOU IT'S BETSUNI!"

"Tatomi," Byakuya's voice is slightly rough as he tilts my chin up to look at him. "Something's wrong," he says, his violet eyes searching mine, "You can deny it however you want, Tatomi, but you will not be able to lie to me. You refuse to look into my eyes. What, Tatomi? What's going on?"

"Betsu-" something snaps inside me again, "You want me to finish? It's because my bracelet shattered. Do you still want to hear , Byakuya? Do you?" I wretch myself away from his grasp, "I DON'T KNOW WHY I CAN'T LET THAT GO! I LET IT GO BUT IT'S THERE! YOU CAN'T JUST EXPECT US TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN WHEN YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME IN YOUR OFFICE AND THERE'S THIS AWKWARD TOPIC BETWEEN US! YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT. MAYBE THIS FRIENDSHIP IS...I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M TALKING 'BOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE! IT'S BETSUNI, BYAKUYA! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I-" the world suddenly fades before my eyes and my legs give away, sinking myself into darkness.

 _What happened?_ I try to open my eyes but I can't . It was as if my reliatsu was getting sucked away by this unknown vaccuum. _I can't breath. I can't_ -

Something pink flows my way, catching me before I sink any deeper, and pulling me up towards the surface. I blink open y eyes and see Byakuya's face inches away from mine. From the corner of my eye I see someone's curious face peek out. I scramble to my feet, only to send the world spiralling before me. I gasp, but Byakuya's arm pulls me in, his reliatsu filling my body so that it wouldn't fall. "Byakuya?"

"Take it easy," says Byakuya, his voice dipping back into his emotionless tone. I bit my lip and rest my head gingerly onto his chest. My head clears a bit, and I push back the reliatsu Byakuya was giving me as my reliatsu slowly flowed in. Sensing I was feeling better, Byakuya waited a few moments before setting me gently on the ground, propping me up using the wall. "Wait here, I'll get you some water."

Watching him leave, I subconsciously touch my head, _what in the world happened?_

_Mistress!_

_Yokoso? You sound like you got onto a roller coaster, it went too fast and you nearly died, and now you just got off._

_You idiot, that happened to YOU not me!_

_:?_

_Details later, but basically I got back the pieces._

_All?_

_All._

_How?_

_I SAID details LATER. Now, will you listen to me this time? The 'barrier' on both of us before when it was broken has vanished, and now you release your reliatsu wildly if you're not careful. It's still in pieces, which means the reliatsu you release-to a certain point-it starts leaking away into, well, it just leaks and dissappears._

_In other words, I was better off without the pieces? I mean, this way I'm more likely to die, right?_

_Not if you're careful._

_Wait...I can learn bankai! I can, right?_

_..no._

_Why?_

_I won't teach it to you._

_Why not? What if I defeat you? Is that the ritual or something, you know, Mistress/Master defeat zanpakuto, zanpakuto teaches them bankai?_

_No. It's just that, you'll be better off without bankai._

_What if I want to learn it?_

_No. You'll die if you use the bankai in real life._

_...but-_

_I'm telling you, you lost your temper to Byakuya, and I'm not reasoning with you when you're in this odd mood,_ says Yokoso, and she leaves without another word.

"Here," says Byakuya. I take the glass hesitantly and take a careful sip. After a few sips, I put it down on the ground and place my hand on Byakuya's arm when he reaches for it.

"Gomenasai, Byakuya...I kind of lost it back there. I shouldn't have," I said slowly. He doesn't reply. I wrap my arms around his chest and pull myself in a hug. "..you're suppose to say 'I forgive you,' now Byakuya/"

"Well I don't."

"...You're so mean," I said grinning at him, "That hasn't changed."

Byakuya looks at me seriously, "..are you alright?"

I nod, "Byakuya? do you remember that day when you told me you weren't delicate?" Byakuya nods, his eyes holding a hidden questioning look. "Well, I'm not delicate either."

"Hm..." he nods unconvincingly.

"I'm serious!"

Byakuya's lips flatten out into what seemed like the ghost of a smile. He reaches up and pinches me on the nose before I could draw back, "You'll always be delicate to me."

"Nani?!"

"Nii-sama," says Rukia from the doorway, her eyes glimmering with amusement, "Ukitake-taichou is here to speak to you, Nii-sama."

Byakuya nods, giving me a 'go-eat-ahead-with-Rukia' look.

"But I'm not hungry..."

"..."

"Okay okay fine!" I turn to Rukia, "Looks like we're under orders to eat breakfast, Rukia."

Rukia nods with enthusiasm, "Yes, lets!" then she pauses, "Ano, Shihoine-san, why're you wearing Nii-sama's kimono?"

I grinned, "Because Byakuya wanted to show off his abs so he gave his kimono to me."

"N-nani?!" Rukia's eyes widen in shock, "Nii-sama wouldn't do something like that..."

"Oi!" a hand smacks down on my head, "Don't go badmouthing captain, Tatomi!"

I try to smack Renji's head for payback, but end up hitting his shoulders. He smirks. "Darn you!" I growl under my breath and whip out my zanpakuto-sheathed, mind you, I'm not crazy-, jump up and smack him hard on the head for good measure, "Yes!"

Renji glares at me while rubbing his head, "I didn't even hit you hard, dammit." Then Rukia's foot connects with his thigh-inches away from his weak spot, "Hey!"

Rukia shakes a finger at him, "Don't be rude to our guest, Renji. You should know better by now."

Grinning, I slip past the two whom were still arguing and rush to the table to find muffins, croissants and milk already on the table. The slightly queezy feeling leaves me as the last of my reliatsu fills up the gap. The maid places down the last plate and bows.

I smile, "Thank you."

The maid nods, then suddenly freezes, her eyes widening into saucers.

That's when I see her face properly, and my jaw drops. This was...no, it wasn't. Nishimaru-san had looked much older, and her eyes were not the startling shade of light brown. They were dark brown in sunlight, and black at night.

The maid speaks first, stuttering and stumbling over her words, "F-Forgive me, m'am, but...d-do you happen to be in relation to Lady Yoruichi?"

I nod, "Who are you?"

Instead of answering, her eyes start shimmering and tears start flowing out of her eyes. She clasps the hems of her skirt and something clicks inside me. The child of Nishimaru-san, whom had been five years older when I was first introduced. Her name stayed on the tip of my tongue and I reached out a hand to comfort her. She lets go of her skirts and take my hand with both of hers, "I knew it was you, Tatomi-sama. I'm so glad! Mama was so worried when you left, I-" she pauses and laughes, "Forgive me, Tatomi-sama, I have not introduced myself. It is I, Esaly."

I look at her, unsure of what to say. Finally, I ask her the only thing that was going through my mind, "What in the world are you doing at the Kuchiki manor?"

She looks down at the ground, "Mama was worried. I...I wanted to come here. I had a feeling you'd come back, especially when Lady Yoruichi came. I just knew it! Won't you let me be your maid, Tatomi-sama? I will do everything and anything to serve you again."

I bit my lip, "Even after all that tormenting I gave you when we were so little?" I asked, remembering the times where I would be bored and disrupt her work and annoy her.

"I got use to it, Tatomi-sama," she says quietly, much to my suprise, "And I...I missed it when you left...I would really really love it if I could just serve you once again-that is, if my lady permits," she says quickly, catching herself.

I grinned, "Then it's settled."

Esaly smiles at me genuinely and hurries to the corridor to where Renji and Rukia were, "Lady Rukia and companion, please eat breakfast before it gets cold!"

And Renji's voice, "Hey, how come I'm only a companion?!"

"Renji!" I say, mimicking Byakuya's voice, "Don't talk like that to my personal handmaid!"

*******************

After hanging out for the whole day, bugging different people at different times, I had finally ran outta options.

"Toshir-kawai, please!"

"Iie, Masumoto needs to get back to work, and so do I."

Sensing I had lost, I glomped Toshiro and held that position for a whole minute before releasing him.

"What was that for?!" he yells, a tick mark appearing on his head.

"For making me lose. Go have fun with your paper work. Don't molest Rangiku," I snickered at his horrified face, "Oops, forgot Toshir-kawai here is underaged."

"I am not underaged!" says Toshiro before realizing what that meant, "That is, uh..."

"Well then, I'll see you later!"

*************************

So yes, I went to visit Byakuya.

I closed the door behind me, noting that Renji was away. Probably finished his share of paperwork already...lazy fukotaichou...

"Tatomi," says Byakuya, noting my presence without looking up from his paperwork. I take a few steps 'till I'm beside him and realize he hadn't been working on paperwork, but rather calligraphy. The blank piece of paper had the kanji character 愛 (love) written over and over again in different styles.

"...What're you doing, Byakuya?" I say eyeing the pile of unfinished paperwork beside him. He doesn't answer, but keeps on writing the character again. "..." the sun was beginning to set, and the sky was glowing a pink-ish red. "...Look Byakuya, SenbonZakura is in the sky." _A failure attempt to make him smile,_ says Yokoso, _Why do you even try? Ōkina osewa ..(none of your business) Actually, it is my business. You're my mistress, afterall. Am I right? Do you-_ "Byakuya, why're you playing around with calligraphy?

"Betsuni (nothing special)," says Byakuya, scrutinizing the latest 愛 character he had written, "...it's amusing." There's a few moments of silence, before he mutters something under his breath.

"Hm?"

Byakuya inhaled, and his brush strokes paused, "Tatomi,"

"Yes?"

"If I told you I love you, what would you say?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. I cocked my head curiously at Byakuya who's staring intently at the character he's been practicing over and over again, "Maybe you should say it. Then you'd know what would happen next."

Silence.

"Byakuya?"

"Forget it."

Pfft. I sighed and plopped down on the arm of his chair, and watched as Byakuya kept at his calligraphy. _What was that all about?_ _Hm...Do you remember those times when Byakuya would compare your work to his just to annoy you? Be quiet. You enjoy bringing up the past, don't you? Only when I can get a worthy reaction out of you. ...so was this one worth it? Absolutely. ... See? See what? Your reaction was worth it. ...go bother Senbonzakura or something if your bored. And turn out like you? No thanks. ... Okay okay fine, I'll come back when you're in a brighter mood. It's your fault. It's your reaction. ... okay okay I'm leaving... Hmph. Have a good night's sleep. You too..._

I looked up and realized Byakuya's brush strokes slowed. To my amusement, his eyes slowly closed and I caught the calligraphy brush before it could slide out of his grasp and ruin his 'work'. I set that back into the case and closed it. Taking the fur coat Byakuya always left in his office, I draped it over him, then turned back to look at the paperwork. The idiot. I bit my lip. My eyes surveyed his desk, and then travelled to a bound book on the far side of his desk. I leafed through it and, to my delight, it was a documentary of things that had been happening over the last few weeks or so. Picking up the pile, I carried it to Renji's desk, and I began to work.

~~**Yokoso's POV** ~~

_My mistress...working on paperwork voluntarily..._ I wanted to hit her head and ask her why she was so oblivious of her own feelings...

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

Finally I caught myself yawning as I filled out the last sheet. It was a miracle that none of these needed Byakuya's signature. pickingup the stamp for Squad 6, I stamped the last dociument and self-delivered it to each squad.

*******************

I entered Byakuya's office and looked outside. Dark. I rolled my eyes at his still sleeping form. You're practically falling asleep on your feet as well, mistress. Urusai, why aren't you standing on my sie?! I took hold of Byakuya's arm and shook it, "Byakuya, wake up!" He leaned back in his chair and muttered something I couldn't quite catch. "Bakuya, c'mon, wake up! Doo you seriously want to sleep in your office? Now, come on!"

"...Tatomi..." he whispered, opening his eyes slightly. Byakuya draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer.

"N-Nani, Byakuya?!" But he had closed his eyes again, and his breath came out evenly, "Byakuya, wake up already..." I stifled a yawn...sleep was beckoning, and suddenly I didn't want to get up anymore... I pressed my face against Byakuya's chest _..so warm..._

~~**3rd Person POV** ~~

Yoruichi grins, looking at the sleeping form of Tatomi and Byakuya. She was peeking in from the window.

"Yoruichi-san 3!"

Yoruichi spins around and puts her hands on her hips, "Kisuke, be quiet you manuke (blockhead)!"

Urahara snaps his fan open and covers it over his mouth in response, "Lemme see." He takes a look inside and turns to Yoruichi with a big smile, "Ooooooooooooo look at that. Beautiful. You better get on with your plan, Yoruichi-san!"

Yoruichi smacks Urahara across the head, "Quit making it sound like some sort of conspiracy, Kisuke. Truthfully, I'm not sure...maybe I should give this a bit more time..."

As if on cue, a hell butterfly appears and lands on her finger:

_"Shihoine-san. I wish to speak to you, preferrably some time tomorrow. Perhaps you will stop by for tea?"_

_-Ginrei Kuchiki_

*******************

"This is going too fast, way too fast," mutters Yoruichi as she steps in, slamming the screen door behind her. Promising to lash out her inner turmoils at the next hollow that showed up at Karakura town-or anywhere else-, Yoruichi burped. It was too bad the discussion between her and Ginrei-san hadn't been as good as the tea Nishimura-san's daughter had served.

Tatomi sure did things quickly. One of the side topics were that Nishimura's daughter would be retreating out of the employment position she had in the Kuchiki manor. The main topic however, was discussed much too long and was really not Yoruichi's...well, it hadn't been her place to make a decision. But she was, Ginrei argued, the head of the Shihoin clan.

She had to say something.

So she did.

Yawning, she drags out her futon and lays down, trying to settle down.

Chirp. Chirpchirp.

 _Darn crickets, go away._ Yoruichi closes her eyes. Chirp. Chirpchirp. _Yoruichi, I would like to ask-_ "Dammmmmmm-"

"Yoruichi-san!" says a cheerful voice from the foot of her bed, "How are you?" Yoruichi and opens one eye. "Hey, Yoruichi-san, you were so mean, leaving me behind watching Kuchiki and Tatomi cuddle-"

"Kisuke,"

"Hm?" says Urahara, an innocent look on his face.

"CAN'T YOU LET A GROWN WOMAN SLEEP?!"

"Yoruichi-san-"

"WHY?! IF YOU HAD LENT ME YOUR SPIRITUAL CLOAK THE HELL BUTTERFLY WOULDN'T HAVE FOUND ME AND AAAAAARGGG KISUKE WHY?! AND NOW EVEN THE CRICKETS WON'T SHUT THEIR MUSICAL CHIRPS FOR A FEW MOMENTS AND SAVE IT FOR WHEN I FALL ASLEEP-" Yoruichi blinks as she felt something shoved into her hand.

"Drink it," says Urahara with a serious expression, "You'll feel better." Yoruichi sighs, sits up, and empties the sake bottle in one gulp, then lets out a content burp. "What happened?"

She collaps onto the futon again, "Ginrei-dono asked me for approval. For the marriage. And I said yes. What else was I suppose to do."

"Ah, Tatomi and Byakuya are finally getting married?" Urahara smiles, "Isn't that a good thing? You were just saying a few days ago that they should make up already and invent a bunch of new styles of kis-"

"You said that. The second part."

"But it is them?"

"Of course it's them! Who else would it be?! But how in the name of Soul Society am I going to be able to tell Tatomi this? Do I say, 'hey, Tato-cat, you're getting married to Byakuya' or 'Tatomi Shihoine. You will hereby marry Byakuya Kuchiki; please be on your best behaviour'...it should be special, just like when you, you know," Yoruichi frowns, her eyebrows furrowing deeply.

"Why don't you just leave it to Byakuya to tell Tatomi-there's no way he doesn't know they're getting married, right?" says Urahara.

"..." Yoruichi smiles and glomps Urahara around the waist, "Perfect! For once you show your less idiotic side!"

"I'm such a genius, aren't I , Yoruichi-san?" says Urahara with a big smile, "You're finally proud of me!"

**~~3RD PERSON POV,~~ _SQUAD SIX OFFICE_**

'Get your mistress out of here before she causes my master to lose his dignity,' says Senbonzakura, glowering at Yokoso.

Yokoso stands calmly beside him, leaning against the wall with a mischevious look in her eyes, 'Why not let your master let loose for once, Senbonzakura? He's too uptight sometimes. Just look at them, your master seems to be resting peacefully.'

'Tch, just hurry up!'

'Why should I? They both look happy right now. You're such a spoilsport, Senbonzakura.'

'...' Senbonzakura straightens, his samurai armer making a series of clinking noises, 'If you don't do it, I'll do it myself.' He takes off without another word.

'Wha-' A sudden blur flashes by Yokoso, travels to where Byakuya was sleeping, and then out the door. 'Senbonzakura, you...' a series of tick marks appear on Yokoso, and she shunpos to the Kuchiki manor. 'Senbonzakura...' _was tucking in HER mistress. That was HER mistress and that was the special way SHE tucked in HER MISTRESS_...

Yokoso's reliatsu began to expand until there was a deadly shade of honey drifting around the room.

'Senbonzakura...' Yokoso shunpos until she was inches away from his ear, 'HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY MISTRESS! YOU CAN'T TOUCH HER. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR MASTER AND MY MISTRESS ARE GETTING M-' she paused, wait, I'm not suppose to reveal my secret eavesdropping techniques yet, 'ANYWAYS, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TOUCH MY MISTRESS IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE!'

'What were you going to say?'

'You can't touch her!'

'No, not that, before that. You said master and your mistress were getting-?'

'Uh..nothing.'

Senbonzakura grabbed her by her shoulders and shoved her against the wall, his own murderous aurora starting to appear, 'Stop acting like your mistress and TELL ME ALREADY!'

'My, my...I might be like my mistress but you lack the composure of your master, don't you?' Yokoso pauses, 'Anyways, you'll find out soon enough.'

'Tch,' Senbonzakura tightened his grip on Yokoso's shoulder and glared at her. She glared back.

*glare*

*glare*

*glare*

"...Yokoso..." says a voice from the ground, temporarily breaking the glare war. "Why..where.." Tatomi sat up and looked around, "Kuchiki manor? Yokoso!"

'What?' then Yokoso notices the early streams of light entering the slanted blinds, 'What do you know, Senbonzakura? You actually waited out until morning! Congrats! Never knew you were this detemined before!' she gave him a big smile, which earned her a smack in the face, 'Hey, watch it!'

'This is new,' says Senbonzakura, pointing at the porcelain kitty bracelet on Yokoso's wrist, 'You never told me it-'

"It's back!" Tatomi gives Yokoso an accusing glare, "If it's back, why are you refusing to teach me-"

'Idiotic mistress and idiotic Senbonzakura!' says Yokoso quietly, glaring at them both, 'It healed last night. And there's still visible cracks in it.'

"Teach me!"

'No!'

"Come on! Why?"

'Why should I?'

"..."

'You don't even know why you want to have bankai!'

Senbonzakura twitched, and finally lost it. Grabbing hold of Yokoso by the petals that fanned around Yokoso's head and shoulders, senbonzakura spun her around, 'TELL ME WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY ALREADY! YOU SAID SOON! THIS IS SOON! THIS IS THE LIMIT OF SOON!'

Yokoso zipped her lips.

'YOU LITTLE-' Senbonzakura paused, as if listening to something. Then he vanished.

Yokoso glares at the spot where Senbonzakura vanished, "Hmph. Goes whenever his master summons him.." then she turns to Tatomi, "You just recovered. Let's talk about something cheerful."

"..."

**~~3RD PERSON POV,~~ _KUCHIKI MANOR_ **

"Grandfather," says Byakuya, kneeling by the entrance to the tea room where Ginrei Kuchiki sat.

"Yes, come in, Byakuya. I have something important to inform you about. It concerns your future, as well as the future of Tatomi Shihoine, and the Kuchiki clan," Ginrei Kuchiki pauses, takes a sip of tea and watches Byakuya's reaction as he said his next words, "You are currently engaged to Tatomi Shihoine." Ginrei ran his eyes over his little grandson, his eyes crinkling when he saw Byakuya's reaction. Some of the old spirited Byakuya was not fully hidden, and Ginrei could visibly see him struggle in vain to process the update.

"Grandfather..." Byakuya looks down, studying the floor, "You do not jest?"

"No."

"Since when~?"

"I have spoken to Yoruichi Shihoin, and she gives her approval," Ginrei looks at his grandson oddly, "Are you not happy, Byakuya?" seeing Byakuya's eyes widen, he continues, "Do not think that I cannot see the way you behave, even though I am a man of great age, I am a man of many experiences."

"Grandfather, I-"

"Give your thanks later, Byakuya," says Ginrei, taking another sip of tea, "Now, isn't there a captains' meeting you should be attending at the moment? Do not be more tardy than necessary."

**~~3RD PERSON POV,~~ _CAPTAINS' GATHERING_**

_I am Yoruichi Shihoin, eavesdropping on a meeting. Why? Because I have a bad feeling about it and now I suppose I get my punishment because nothing is happening,_ Yoruichi thought, sighing, _This is useless: hiding in a corner, hidden by the shadow cast by the wall._ Yoruichi propped up her chin with her hand and tried to pay attention.

"...now that we have come to an unanimous agreement on budget, I will now address the more important matter at hand," says Yamamoto Genryusai, "Kurotsuchi-taichou, will you elaborate?"

"Yes, yes," says Mayuri, adjusting his mask a little, "As you know, I have been working on a new technological device that has a display that provides instant feedback with graphic images in HD style and as a 460 degrees view-"

"Kurotsuchi-taichou," says Unohana with a kind smile, "Please get straight to it."

"Er, yes, of course," says Mayuri, looking quite peeved to be interrupted, "The phosphor white dots show shinigamis entering, and the phosphor green dots show hollows. These appear due to the cathode rays that scan areas. Turquoise dots, however, show-"

"Ahem," Yamamoto taps his cane, "It has been reported by Kurotsuchi-taichou and Soifon-taichou, who went to inspect the area, that two very popular senkei gates have been opened by undefined creatures in Karakura town. Ichigo Kurosaki will be securing one. I am sending Tatomi Shihoine to secure the other. Any objections?"

Yamamoto looks around the room, seeing looks of surprise that flashed through. No one said anything.

Then, "I wish to go in her place," says Soifon, looking angry, "I have seen the region, and it will be dangerous for Shihoine-sama to-"

"She knows the region well. I heard rumors that her zanpakuto abilities will be useful in bringing back the undefined creatures so that I can research more about them," says Mayuri, grinning. Soifon looked ready to argue when someone stepped out of the shadows.

"I know the far side just as well as Tatomi, Yamamoto-taichou. Please send me instead."

Just then, the screen door opened, revealing the captain of Squad Six. "My apologies for being late," Byakuya says rather absentmindedly for his usual self. Yoruchi notices this, and feels satisfied: Ginrei had told him. But what the hey, everything would be ruined if Tatomi was sent. They'd be separated again, and who knows what would happen to Tatomi, since she was obviously going alone.

Surely Yamamoto wouldn't refuse her wish of taking Tatomi's place and going instead. Yoruichi had more experience, and

"No," says Yamamoto, and Yoruichi saw from the corner of her eyes Byakuya's confused look and Ukitake leaning in to brief him on what had been happening, "I know Shihoine's shikai as well as you do. She will be more useful."

Yoruichi feels her hackles rise, "But-"

Yamamoto meets her squarely in the eyes, "That is my-"

"Excuse me," says Byakuya, and Yamamoto turns to him, "Tatomi Shihoine does not have a bankai. It will be rather troublesome to send her alone. It will be better if I accompany her."

Yamamoto nods, "Very well. It is settled then. Kuchiki-taichou will accompany Shihoine Tatomi to secure the senkei gate at the far side of Kakura town." His eyes drift briefly to Yoruichi, and she nods.

The captains rose to leave, and Yoruichi leaps in front of Byakuya, finding them two to be the last ones leaving the meeting room. Yoruichi gives Byakuya a hard look, "You better take good care of Tatomin, got it, Bya-bo?"

Byakuya's eyes narrow at the use of the nickname, "Did you think I would do anything but that?"

"I'm serious, if you don't, I'll-"

"Now now, Yoruichi-san," says Kisuke, appearing outta nowhere and putting a calming hand on Yoruichi's shoulder, "I'm sure Byakuya will take good care of his wife-to-be, won't you, Byakuya?"

Byakuya looks at them both, "Tatomi will be fine."

"That's right!" says a cheery voice from the back. Kyoraku taichou grins widely, "Kuchiki here won't let his kitten get hurt, don'tcha worry, Yorucihi!"

**~~TATOMI'S POV~~  
**

The hell butterfly flew off my finger, and I whirled to face Yokoso. "You'll teach me now, won't you? You have to!"

"No."

"Why? If I get killed then it will be your fault for not teaching me," I said, whining. _Well, okay, yeah, I was whining but_..

"So be it," says Yokoso.

"Yokoso! Why won't you listen?!"

"It's you who won't listen," says Yokoso, looking at me with a serious expression, "You can deny it all you want, but you cannot learn bankai for the sole reason of fearing you will lose the opportunity to learn it."

"You always say to catch opportunities before they fly off!"

"But you aren't doing that either, are you? Letting Byakuya float further and further away when all you want is for him to cuddle you and hold you dear? I hate seeing you unhappy, mistress," says Yokoso.

"Well, I-" I grasped at the last arguement I could come up with, "What if I need it? How will I use it if I don't even know it?"

Yokoso shruggs, "My bankai is like my shikai. It is all instinct. That aside, you cannot solve most things by following your instincts, mistress."

"I know..I know that. I knew that all along, I think."

"Tatomi!" says a voice from door. I turn to see Rangiku who has a rather odd expression on her face. Her face is slightly flushed, "TDYEARKUCHOUSINAGEINRRIED!"

I frowned, "You're talking to fast, ne Rangiku-chan."

Rangiku takes a deep breath, "Tatomin, did you hear? Kuchiki-taichou is finally getting married!" _What?_

***********************

I stare at her, hard. My confusion must have shown on my face, for Rangiku grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me a little, "Kuchiki-taichou is getting married!"

"Um, okay?" I say slowly, and she releases me, "I'm leaving now, and this is the first thing you say to me?" _God Rangiku, sometimes you are so-_ then it hits me. Byakuya. In a suit. With a pretty lady with red hair, or maybe caramel, or the same shade of black hair as him, walking down the aisle, and I'm standing at the steps outside the ceremony in pink, alone, watching but not going in-

_Wait, what?_

The world is swirling, but staying still. I feel a lump rise to my throat. _Byakuya was...getting married?_

"Oh Tatomin!" Rangiku glomped my stupefied form, "Taichou told me you're leaving for a mission tomorrow, is that true?" I nodded, and Rangiku began to cry, "But you just came, and now you're leaving again?!"

I manage a smile and push the marriage thought away, "Rangiku-chan, I'll be back in a flash, you'll see!"

_Yokoso, if you had taught me bankai, maybe Byakuya would've thought I would be worth it and loved me instead..._

_Mistress, it is-_

_It doesn't matter anymore though, does it? Goodnight, Yokoso,_ I thought, and pushed her away too. _Byakuya..._

I sigh, and adjust Yokoso on my belt. I bit my lip to stop the tears. _Can't think about yesterday, just...I'm going to guard the Senkei gate. Yep, that was all. Who cares if Byakuya is getting married? ..._ A tear streamed down my cheek, and then another. Glancing outside, I saw that it was still sunrise.

 _If I can get outta here fast enough, no one will be able to see me like this,_ I told myself. I gulped down a glass of water, and wiped my eyes. _Lets go!_ With that, I opened the door and shifted to shunpo.

 _Cold threads weave through my hair, brushing past my cheeks. The wind parts, flowing around me The It felt so good to feel the wind passing by me, so good to_ -I narrowed my eyes, stopping in front of the Senkei gate and turning around, coming face to face with Byakuya. My heart leaped, and I wondered why it was after I heard he was getting married that I was acting like this.

_Isn't it suppose to work the other way around? Like I'd like someone and I would know, and then when I hear that he's with someone else, I'd stop liking him?_

Byakuya has the ghost of a smirk as he says, "Did you forget how to return to the Human World?"

I narrow my eyes at him, "Why are you following me? It's suppose to be a solo mission. Not that you'd know about it, but-"

"I do."

"You what?"

"It is evident you did not listen to the whole message. I am coming as well."

"What? Oh-" I turned my back to him, telling the pounding in my heart to cease. _Did they think I couldn't guard a stupid gate by myself?_ I clear my throat, "I'm ready to leave when you are."

Running through the Senkei gate with Byakuya beside me, I told myself, _there's no point, he's with someone else, so just find another person to love. But no one is like...him..._ I felt a lump form in my throat, and push it away as we stepped out into Karakura town.

"Tatomi," the tone of his voice made me turn around and look at him, "I..I'm getting married."

"So I've heard from Rangiku. Ginrei-dono must be proud," I said, smiling at him. Don't show it, not yet, not yet, can't let him know, I told myself. Mistress, if you would listen, I'm trying to tell you that- Whatever. It doesn't matter.

Byakuya looks at me oddly but nods, "Yes, Grandfather is very pleased," he pauses, "Tatomi-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know: we're on a mission so don't delay," I said, shifting into shunpo once more, "Lets go."

I sat on the roof, changing my sitting position for the umpteenth time. Nothing was happening. Nothing was-I heard, rather than saw, Byakuya get up. I looked up, and realized the Senkei gate was opening. I heard Senbonzakura drawn, and my hand touches Yokoso.

 _Mistress, What?_ I drew her, eyeing the Senkei gate, preparing myself for Menos Grandes coming out. Except, they didn't come out. Instead, this dark blob flowed out, like molass. Except I doubt molass has spiritual pressure.

"Stay back," says Byakuya. _He knows,_ I realized, _he knows my unstability due to my bracelet._ _But-_ "Bankai." _Bankai already?_ "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." The black blob in front of us vanishes.

 _Mistress!_ I leap up, and looked down. The blob appears at the spot where I was seconds ago. A wave of sakura petals flow over the place, and the black blob vanishes again, appearing again at another random place. _What was this thing?_ I saw Byakuya narrow his eyes and aim senbonzakura at me. The black blob appears in front of me before it vanishes again as the petals wash over.

 _What did I just see?_ I stared at the spot, feeling frozen. An arm. An arm inside the blob. My eyes shift to Byakuya, and widen when I see the black blob appear an armlength away from his back. His safety zone. The arm comes out of the blob, and everything slows down.

 _You will not hurt him._ I put my hand on Yokoso's hilt and whisper, "Bankai. Greet, Yokoso Hajishimashite." I pull out Yokoso, which now looked like several vines wrapped around the blade. I dive in, feeling my reliatsu flowing out, pushing at the container my bracelet had acted like. Byakuya's eyes widen when he sees me and I aim my sword at the blob and whisper, "Grow, Yokoso Hajishimashite." The vines extend, and a honeysuckle envelopes the blob.

My reliatsu rises as the blob tears at the petals. The juice from the petals are highly acidic, and it eats away at the blob. The black blob is gone as the petals fall away. Something shatters, and I feel my reliatsu rushing out of an invisible gap in the container. _I told you not to use bankai!_ I look at what's left. A three-digit arrancar? I sway, hearing my bankai shatter, and felt a strong arm wrap around my waist, lifting me up.

"Hey, Byakuya,"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you should be saving me in this position," I ask, trying to stop the world that was spinning around me, "Won't it look bad if your fiance found out?"

"..." I feel Byakuya eye me strangely, "My fiance already knows, doesn't she?" His breath warms my neck, slowing down the spinning world.

Logic slightly enters my mind, "Who is this that you're marrying?"

"..You don't know?" I felt myself being put down onto a roof. "Promise not to be dissappointed?" I nod. Then I feel a shift in the air, and Byakuya stiffen. "Stay here."

Something in my mind tells me there was something wrong. _Well, no duh there was something wrong. My bankai shattered, right? Why was everything so slow?_ I look over at where the arrancar was standing, and see Byakuya shunpo towards him, with senbonzakura swirling around him. Senbonzakura was still in its first bankai form. Then I register the fact that I was lying on the roof of a random person's house. _Byakuya, don't underestimate the arrancar._ _Maybe you shouldn't underestimate what you can do._ _What do you mean?_ _Our bankai is instincts. Our bankai is supported by our resolve._ _I don't get it, what do you mean?_ _Do you remember asking me whether one achieves bankai by defeating their zanpakuto in a battle?_ _Hai, demo..._ _But your bankai shattered._ _You shattered._ _I didn't shatter, your resolve did. This being will not be purified easily._

 _Let me try again,_ I say, _Let me use bankai and_ _\- No, says Yokoso, Mistress, understand that not everything can be defeated by using bankai. This being is powered by a dark emotion, and bankai will simply feed it. It is very powerful._ _Then surely bankai will-_ _Bankai, especially yours, will not defeat this being. Similiarily, you attaining bankai will not cause Byakuya to love you more or less, or love you at all._

I watch Senbonzakura pierce the arrancar, except.. The arrancar's arm is outstretched in a crooked position, as if it wasn't his arm there. I frowned, feeling a radiant energy pulsing from the air surrounding us. Pain. Hurt. Emptiness where something use to be. Anger. I bit my lip.

 _Yokoso, I think I understand. This blob...it's powered by unreturned love, isn't it? I guess it never...never felt love given back to it. I don't want to feel this way. I wish... I wish Byakuya wouldn't leave me. But he is, isn't he? And I'll never get a chance to, a chance to tell him how I, how I feel.."_ A blob appears from a blind spot, and it forms into an arm. My hands pushed me up. The arm reels back, and I scream, but no one hears me. No. No. No. No. There was no way Byakuya would- I ran towards him, reaching him the same time as the deadly arm. I wrapped my arms around him, and felt something pierce my right shoulder that shielded his heart.

"Suki da, Byaku-" I felt darkness drown me, then recede. Byakuya was holding me, his violet eyes looking at me intently, his face in an unreadable mask. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks, and I clutched his shirt in my hands, shaking, unable but yet able to feel the pain, "It hurts, Byakuya. It hurts..." I gasp, trying to breathe. Blackness cloud my vision. Then it drowns me again, along with the pain.  
This time though, it doesn't recede.

**~~BYAKUYA'S POV~~   
**

I felt Tatomi go limp in my arms, and I instinctively touched my fingertips to her now bloody shoulder and whisper a healing kido. I clench my jaw when my fingers touch the hole the arm had punctured. The arm had gone straight through, and had grazed me. If Tatomi hadn't been there, she wouldn't be in this condition.

I feel her spiritual pressure fade fast, and the intensity of the kido increases. Hang in there, Tatomi. Just hang on, help will be here soon- My eyes widen. Then blackness washes over.

"Nii-sama, Tatomi-san!"

"Tatomin!"

"Byakuya!"

"Taichou!"

"...We got here too late."

~~**3RD PERSON POV** ~~

"Unohana-taicho," says Rukia, worriedly looking at her brother, "Will Nii-sama be alright?"

Retsu Unohana nods, "Kuchiki-san passed out due to losing a lot of reliatsu, but his wound is shallow so he should be fine. Hanatarou will be coming in and healing it for Kuchiki-san," Sensing Rukia's feeling of unease, Unohana sighs and continues, "We have stabalized Tatomi-san. Her injuries were much for serious, and we can only hope for the best."

"Unohana-taichou!" says a voice from the door, "Excuse the interruption, taichou, but there has been more shinigamis coming in with-"

"Yes Isane, I will be right there," Unohana gives Rukia a quick smile before exiting the room. Rukia stares after her, trying to process everything that had happened.

She starts when she hears a rustling sound come from the futon. Turning around, she sees Byakuya open his eyes, and she smiles with relief, "Nii-sama! Are you feeling alright?"

Byakuya looks at her for a few seconds, before touching her hand gently, "I am alright." Then remembering, he grasps Rukia's hand tightly, "Tatomi. Where is~?"

"We just brought her back." They both turn to face the doorway where Yoruichi stood with a shadowed face, "She's in the next room."

Byakuya gets up from the futon. "Taichou!" He turns to give a scathing look at Renji, who gulps. "Taichou, ah, it may be better if you lie down and rest; Hanatarou will be here in a few moments and heal-"

"I'm fine."

"But Taichou-"

"Stop it, Byakuya," says Yoruichi, "You're doing none of us a favor by refusing treatment. See, there's Hanatarou. "

**~~TATOMI'S POV~~   
**

'Mistress!'

"Yokoso!" I ran forward to embrace Yokoso, but ended up falling onto the ground. This time though, it wasn't really my fault. I looked up, and saw the sky crumbling, folding in. _Um..._ _okay, calm down,_ I told myself, _inner worlds have a special link with the shinigami's mental and physical state so unless if I'm going crazy, this shouldn't be happening._

I stared up at the sky, imagining it fading and re-appearing where it was suppose to be: a few thousand feet above us. I gasped, feeling pain ripple through my body, and everything started to shimmer like a mirage. _What the hey did I do?_! I groaned, clutching my shoulder as my world kept spinning, the sky collapsing in a suffocating way.

 _Damn, damn, damn, damn!_ I look at Yokoso, who was saying something to me. Except, I couldn't hear it, I could only see her mouth move, shaping words that I couldn't define. _Why was I here?_ I struggled to remember, but only pieces of my memory came.

_Yokoso in my room, telling me she got the bracelet pieces back. Rangiku popping in, telling me Byakuya is getting married. I was arguing with Yokoso, demanding to learn my bankai. Sleeping in Byakuya's arms in the office. The blob coming out of the Senkei gate. The hell butterfly landing on my fingertips, telling me of my mission to the far Senkei gate of Karakura town. Byakuya's safety zone. Well, to be precise, the safety zone when Senbonzakura was used. He's getting married; Ginrei-dono must be pleased. Wait, what? The order of this stuff didn't make any sense, I thought, feeling my breath come out in short, quick struggled puffs, what happened? What the hey happened? The blob came out after the butterfly landing, after it entered Byakuya's safety zone-wait, no, that's not right-_

The world is spinning faster now, the sky collapsing _faster? Faster? Why was it collapsing faster? I had to stop it from collapsing,_ I thought to myself, _so that..so that, oh I don't know why. I just have to stop it from collapsing. What do I do?!_ I whimpered, curling up into a ball, failing to compose myself. _The Arrancar is dead, but Byakuya...the arm! The arm from the blob and-shoot._ I needed to get outta here, to make sure Byakuya's okay. I struggled, trying to get up, but couldn't. The pain blocked out everything, and I began to panic. I frantically grasped with my hands, trying to hold onto something, anything as I felt the ground leave me, _no no no what was going on?!_

_I'm falling in my own inner world-how pathetic is that?!_

Then I caught something. I wasn't sure what it was, or if it slipped into my left hand instead of the other way around. Suddenly, the pain in my shoulder deadened, and I felt cold. Cold. So cold. I shivered, _why was it so cold?_ I closed my eyes and curled into a tighter ball, grasping the warmth that I held. It was strange; whatever I was holding on felt surprisingly familiar and comforting. The world around me stops spinning, and I open my eyes hesitantly, feeling a bit more stable. My eyes caught sight of a large flower lying on the ground a few feet away in a deeper part of the landslide, its petals torn.

"Yokoso!" I tried to say but could not. I tried to go over to her, but my limbs felt like lead. Yokoso! The ribbon around her neck that had the porcelain bracelet was torn, kept together by a few intact threads. _Yokoso!_ I clutch the warmth on my left hand. _You were right, Yokoso. You were always right; I just didn't see it soon enough. You're right, I do love Byakuya...it hurts so much to love him, Yokoso. Thats the worst part. Kowing that no matter how much I tried, it wouldn't work because..because.._

 _Go._ I look up to see Yokoso looking at me, _Go back. You haven't tried your best, mistress. You're not a Shihoine for nothing, you know. But Byakuya doesn't-_ I choked on my tears as my world suddenly collapses even further. I wince, feeling pressure from the warmth draw me away from everything..

I'm somewhere else, I can feel it. _Voices. Nee-san._ I can hear her talking to someone. I struggle to open my heavy eyelids, but they only go halfway before they stubbornly refuse to open any further. "Yoruichi-nee," I rasp, my throat feeling dry, "I'm cold, Nee-san. Why is it so cold in here?" I feel a blanket being tucked firmly around me, and the hand that brushes by my cheek reminds me of something painful. Someone's talking? Wait..where's Byakuya? "Nee-san?" I heard the two voices pause, "Nee-san? Where's Byakuya?"


	8. Puzzle Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I think I chatter too much._   
>  _When I'm distressed I tend to ramble on_   
>  _and on_   
>  _You say you like listening_   
>  _And when you feel like it's enough_   
>  _you'll tell me to shut up_   
>  _to breath._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **  
> _Before reading, note that: Suki da=I love you_  
>  **

~~**3RD PERSON POV** ~~

"Unohana-taicho," says Rukia, worriedly looking at her brother, "Will Nii-sama be alright?"

Retsu Unohana nods, "Kuchiki-san passed out due to losing a lot of reliatsu, but his wound is shallow so he should be fine. Hanatarou will be coming in and healing it for Kuchiki-san," Sensing Rukia's feeling of unease, Unohana sighs and continues, "We have stabalized Tatomi-san. Her injuries were much for serious, and we can only hope for the best."

"Unohana-taichou!" says a voice from the door, "Excuse the interruption, taichou, but there has been more shinigamis coming in with-"

"Yes Isane, I will be right there," Unohana gives Rukia a quick smile before exiting the room. Rukia stares after her, trying to process everything that had happened.

She starts when she hears a rustling sound come from the futon. Turning around, she sees Byakuya open his eyes, and she smiles with relief, "Nii-sama! Are you feeling alright?"

Byakuya looks at her for a few seconds, before touching her hand gently, "I am alright." Then remembering, he grasps Rukia's hand tightly, "Tatomi. Where is~?"

"We just brought her back." They both turn to face the doorway where Yoruichi stood with a shadowed face, "She's in the next room."

Byakuya gets up from the futon. "Taichou!" He turns to give a scathing look at Renji, who gulps. "Taichou, ah, it may be better if you lie down and rest; Hanatarou will be here in a few moments and hea-"

"I'm fine."

"But Taichou-"

"Stop it, Byakuya," says Yoruichi, "You're doing none of us a favor by refusing treatment. See, there's Hanatarou. "

**~~TATOMI'S POV~~  
**

'Mistress!'

"Yokoso!" I ran forward to embrace Yokoso, but ended up falling onto the ground. This time though, it wasn't really my fault. I looked up, and saw the sky crumbling, folding in. _Um..._ _okay, calm down,_ I told myself, _inner worlds have a special link with the shinigami's mental and physical state so unless if I'm going crazy, this shouldn't be happening._

I stared up at the sky, imagining it fading and re-appearing where it was suppose to be: a few thousand feet above us. I gasped, feeling pain ripple through my body, and everything started to shimmer like a mirage. _What the hey did I do?_! I groaned, clutching my shoulder as my world kept spinning, the sky collapsing in a suffocating way.

 _Damn, damn, damn, damn!_ I look at Yokoso, who was saying something to me. Except, I couldn't hear it, I could only see her mouth move, shaping words that I couldn't define. _Why was I here?_ I struggled to remember, but only pieces of my memory came.

_Yokoso in my room, telling me she got the bracelet pieces back. Rangiku popping in, telling me Byakuya is getting married. I was arguing with Yokoso, demanding to learn my bankai. Sleeping in Byakuya's arms in the office. The blob coming out of the Senkei gate. The hell butterfly landing on my fingertips, telling me of my mission to the far Senkei gate of Karakura town. Byakuya's safety zone. Well, to be precise, the safety zone when Senbonzakura was used. He's getting married; Ginrei-dono must be pleased. Wait, what? The order of this stuff didn't make any sense, I thought, feeling my breath come out in short, quick struggled puffs, what happened? What the hey happened? The blob came out after the butterfly landing, after it entered Byakuya's safety zone-wait, no, that's not right-_

The world is spinning faster now, the sky collapsing _faster? Faster? Why was it collapsing faster? I had to stop it from collapsing,_ I thought to myself, _so that..so that, oh I don't know why. I just have to stop it from collapsing. What do I do?!_ I wimpered, curling up into a ball, failing to compose myself. _The arrancar is dead, but Byakuya...the arm! The arm from the blob and-shoot._ I needed to get outta here, to make sure Byakuya's okay. I struggled, trying to get up, but couldn't. The pain blocked out everything, and I began to panic. I frantically grasped with my hands, trying to hold onto something, anything as I felt the ground leave me, _no no no what was going on?!_

_I'm falling in my own inner world-how pathetic is that?!_

Then I caught something. I wasn't sure what it was, or if it slipped into my left hand instead of the other way around. Suddenly, the pain in my shoulder deadened, and I felt cold. Cold. So cold. I shivered, _why was it so cold?_ I closed my eyes and curled into a tighter ball, grasping the warmth that I held. It was strange; whatever I was holding on felt surprisingly familiar and comforting. The world around me stops spinning, and I open my eyes hesitantly, feeling a bit more stable. My eyes caught sight of a large flower lying on the ground a few feet away in a deeper part of the landslide, its petals torn.

"Yokoso!" I tried to say but could not. I tried to go over to her, but my limbs felt like lead. Yokoso! The ribbon around her neck that had the porcelain bracelet was torn, kept together by a few intact threads. _Yokoso!_ I clutch the warmth on my left hand. _You were right, Yokoso. You were always right; I just didn't see it soon enough. You're right, I do love Byakuya...it hurts so much to love him, Yokoso. Thats the worst part. Kowing that no matter how much I tried, it wouldn't work because..because.._

 _Go._ I look up to see Yokoso looking at me, _Go back. You haven't tried your best, mistress. You're not a Shihoine for nothing, you know. But Byakuya doesn't-_ I choked on my tears as my world suddenly collapses even further. I wince, feeling pressure from the warmth draw me away from everything..

I'm somewhere else, I can feel it. _Voices. Nee-san._ I can hear her talking to someone. I struggle to open my heavy eyelids, but they only go halfway before they stubbornly refuse to open any further. "Yoruichi-nee," I rasp, my throat feeling dry, "I'm cold, Nee-san. Why is it so cold in here?" I feel a blanket being tucked firmly around me, and the hand that brushes by my cheek reminds me of something painful. Someone's talking? Wait..where's Byakuya? "Nee-san?" I heard the two voices pause, "Nee-san? Where's Byakuya?" My eyelids grow even heavier..the familiar hand holding mine tenses...

~~**BYAKUYA'S POV** ~~

I stared at Tatomi. _She saw me. I know she saw me. Did she not recognize me?_ Then I feel my blood freeze when the next frightful thought entered my mind, _is she going delusional from the fever already?_

~~**TATOMI'S POV** ~~

_It's cold,_ I thought, trying to curl up to conserve the warmth. I can't move. Fear rises to my throat, but slightly fades when I grasp for something, and feel the hand in mine. "Nee-san?" Yoruichi looks at me worriedly, her scarf around her neck. "Nee-san...where's Byakuya? Why isn't he here?" I squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears leak out anyways, "It's so cold..if Byakuya was here, it would be warmer, wouldn't it?"

 _It's cold. It's so cold. My eyes are so heavy. He's here. Byakuya's here?_ I feel a weak flicker of hope flow through me, and I force my eyes to open. _I want to..._ I feel a wave of fear surge at me, and nothing stops it from engulfing me. The hand isn't here. Nee-san's gone. Maybe she wasn't even here in the first place. Byakuya isn't here either. Tears are flowing down my cheeks. _Byakuya isn't here. He isn't here_. I grasp the hand that's wiping my forehead with something cold, and look into the violet eyes desperately, "Where's Byakuya? Why isn't he here?" I bit my lip, forcing my voice not to tremble as the tears flowed down faster, "Byakuya isn't here. He..I thought he'd come," I laugh bitterly, but the anger lasts for only a few seconds, morphing into disappointment, "I actually thought Byakuya...he..loved me but I-he's not here-" I broke off, shivering.

One thought echoed through me. _He's not here. Byakuya isn't here. It's so cold. So cold._ I gasp, feeling the suffocating feeling come back, and I'm being dragged downwards, back into darkness. My head hurts. Everything is echoing. _Please, someone, make it stop,_ tears streamed down my cheeks and I hear a sobbing sound coming out of my throat, _make it stop._ Yokoso's there, calling out to me. My inner world's trembling violently.

Something warm presses against my lips, and I hear Byakuya's voice whispering something. I can't comprehend the words, but everything slowly become tranquil again.

*******************

I blink open my eyes, and see Byakuya's sleep deprived face looming over me, his tired violet eyes searching mine.

"Byakuya..." I stare at him almost in awe, "You..." I looked down, fingering the palm of his hand with my fingertips, "You were here after all."

He nods, then reaches up and brushes away a stray tear on my cheek, "What is this? Are you upset because you're marrying me, Tatomi?"

I stare at him like a deer suddenly caught by headlights. It takes a moment for the words to sink in. "T-THAT'S NOT FUNNY! IT'S NOT NICE TO TOY WITH A GIRL'S HEART, BYAKUYA!" I exclaim, looking away. His hand cups my cheek and turns me back to face him.

Byakuya studies me thoughtfully, "I'm being serious."

I bolt upright, "BYAKUYA-" I close my eyes, letting the world I had set spinning steady itself, "Never mind. I..I'm probably just," tears are welling up again, "Just hallucinating again but.." but I want it to be real. If only Byakuya will be actually marrying me-I'm pulled out of my little self pity cloud by his warm lips pressed on mine that are withdrawn too quickly.

"Suki da, Tatomi," says Byakuya, his lips flattening into the ghost of a smirk, "Do you love me?"

I grin, wrapping my arms around him and cuddling into his scarf. I tilt my head up and duck when he leans in to kiss me again, "What type of idiot falls in love, anyways?"

Byakuya freezes, narrowing his eyes at me in mock anger and I laugh, wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him into a kiss. Byakuya gently pries me away from him, then crushes me into him, "I'm glad you're alright," he murmurs.

"Tato-kitty!" I feel Nee-san's hand in my hair, ruffling it so, "Finally you're awake! Bya-bo here spared me of the task of updating you on the marriage matter Kuchiki-dono and I discussed a while back." I felt silly yet happy at the same time, _it had been me marrying Byakuya the whole time.. Finally you realize. Yokoso, you knew? I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen~!_ Nee-san pauses, studying my expression before grinning her Yoruichi grin, "Now we can finally continue to the wedding!"

"Tatomin!" I'm glomped by a certain shinigami, blossoms hugging me more than her arms. In case if people didn't realize it was coughrangikucoughchancough. "Guess what? I talked to Unohana-taichou, and she has approved of Tatomi dispatched home!" Rangiku laughs happily, then bounces over and glomps Nee-san as well.

 _It's finally happening, Mistress. Hm...yes it is and wait, the bracelet. Yes? What about it? I used bankai. So you did. But I thought you said- It's fully healed now. Eh?! You're finally emotionally stable, so it's healed. What do you mean? Falling in love with the same shinigami you fought with does strain you mentally. Why you-why do you have such a smart mouth? Heh, I'll be leaving now. Where are you going?_ I asked, feeling curious for the first time. _To bother Senbonzakura. He must be having a fit. Yokoso left, laughing._

I smiled to myself, and snuggled back into Byakuya's chest, feeling his warmth making my eyes close again.

"Hey Tatomi," says Nee-san, "Don't fall asleep yet. You're staying at the Shihoin manor until you're married, you know."

I felt myself being picked up and set on my two feet. I open my eyes tiredly and frown, "Hmph, Byakuya, you're so unromantic." Byakuya looks down at me, his violet eyes glimmering with mischief. I squeal in surprise as I feel myself hefted into his arms and the wind swirls around us. Shunpo.

~~**3RD PERSON POV** ~~

They arrive at the Shihoine manor: Tatomi's room, startling Esaly on the way in. Esaly takes one look at the two of them standing in the doorway, and instantly hurries around, setting up the bed and everything else. Byakuya looks wordlessly at her as he sets Tatomi on the bed, tucking up the covers around her.

"Arigatou, Esaly," Tatomi says, her voice slightly muffled by the covers.

Esaly sighs, "My deepest apologies, Shihoine-sama. If you had arrived perhaps a few minutes later, I would've had had some sort of warning," she pauses, humor lighting up in her eyes, "Keep in mind though, Shihoine-sama, using shunpo is technically cheating," Esaly says, bustling out of the room.

Tatomi looks at Byakuya accusingly, "Did you hear that, Byakuya? You better keep that in mind. Using shunpo is cheating. Technically."

Byakuya looks at her and wordlessly pinches her nose in response.

Tatomi laughs, then sobers, and uses her fingertips to trace the circles under Byakuya's eyes, "You should get some rest too. You look sleep deprived..." then her hand drops away, and her eyes start closing again.

Byakuya runs his hands through her hair, and Tatomi smiles with her eyes closed and pulls him closer. Byakuya pauses, Tatomi,"

"Hm?"

"You still haven't answered my question."

Tatomi sighs irritatingly at the closeness between them and Byakuya not kissing her. She opens one eye, "What question?"

"Do you love me?"

"Yes Byakuya, of course I do. "


	9. I promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _When the lamppost lights up_   
>  _I think of us_   
>  _I can see myself here with you_   
>  _Among the stars_

_A few months later,_ ~~  
~~

**~~TATOMI'S POV~~   
**

_Time to wake up..._ I opened my eyes and instinctively rolled to my left, and froze. I blinked once, twice, then three times. _Why the Koi fish was Byakuya doing in MY room?!_ _Wow..that's your first question? Seriously?_ _Shut up, Yokoso, I'm trying to think!_ _Well someone's in a nice mood in the morning..._ _...How did he get here anyways?_ _Okay, now we're getting somewhere..._ _QUIT SOUNDING SO SMUG, I'M SERIOUS!_ _Heh, I'm being serious too,_ Yokoso deadpans. _NO. STOP IT- WILL YOU QUIT GETTING ME CONFUSED?!_ _He's making a list, counting it twice, gotta find out who's naughty and nice-_ _Holy flip shut up. Wait. Wait. Wait a minute. A list! That's it, I'll make a...uh, what's it called again?_ _List._ _Yeah, that's what it was._

I pushed away my duvet and started ticking off my fingers:

 _1\. Why did I push away the duvet? I think it was soft and warm.._ hmm I reached for it and started to cuddle the duvet. _Mistress!_ I freeze. _Focus! Cross out that question!_ _Why?_ _It wasn't a question._ _Oh..right._

_1\. Who is here?_ _ Byakuya. _

_2\. What is he doing?_ _Sleeping on my mistress's chair._

_3\. How the Koi fish did he get to the Shihoin Manor?!_ _You dragged him here..._

_4\. How the Koi fish did he get in?!_ _Esaly let him in-along with you._

_5\. Why the flip is he in my room?!...uh..._

_6\. What the flip happened last night?!...well..._

_7\. Why aren't you answering #5 and #6, Yokoso?!_ _I think...it would be best if you answered it yourself,_ says Yokoso who left with a sly face. _Yokoso! Get back here and answer my question!_ No reply. _Yokoso, I'm begging you! Please!_ Still nothing.

I drop my hands and turn to study Byakuya's sleeping form. Better ask him then. I swing myself off my bed only to shiver. I looked back at my warm bed. (Come on, lets just go back and sleep. Who cares about what happened?) But I'm curious! (Curiousity kills the cat) I'm not a cat. (...) You are. (But you are cold. ) I cast my bed another longing look. I grab the duvet and wrap it around me like a shawl. I dance over to where Byakuya was sleeping in my chair, feeling the icy floor sting my feet.

"Byakuya, what happened last night?" I say, tapping him on the arm. He stirs, but doesn't open his eyes. "Hey, Byakuya!" His eyes flash open, his violet eyes shooting daggers at me and I turn into dust.

I blink, and I find myself back standing beside his sleeping form, still staring at him. I grip the duvet tightly and my feet seemed to root itself to the floor. _Waking Byakuya up is probably not a good idea._ My foot hits something and I look at the floor to see a DVD case. On the cover is a bright neon purple smiling face with the words "Scream". I furrowed my eyebrows, _wasn't this a horror movie that Urahara mentioned a couple of years ago?_ I had left it at the bottom of the dresser years ago; what is it doing out here?

 _Oh no._ I dragged my horrified look to Byakuya's still sleeping form. _We didn't watch it last night, did we?_

*_flashback_*

_"Please!"_

_"No."_

_"Please?"_

_Byakuya gave me a scathing look, "Absolutely not."_

_"We can do anything you want. Anything. Just spend the night with me at the Shihoin manor, 'kay?" I begged, "No one else is there except for Esaly and she's leaving tonight to visit Nishimaru-san..I even helped you finish your paperwork! Please, Byakuya?"_

_"Iie," says Byakuya, refusing to get up, "I must stay here to correct the mistakes you made."_

_"Nani?!" I glared at him. Why was he being so difficult, anyways? I knew I had not made any mistakes. I frowned, if only if I could get him out of his office...then the rest of the trip would pretty much fall into place. Do something unexpected. Do something freaky. Do something- I grinned and half closed my eyes before licking my lips and leaned close to Byakuya's ear, "If you don't come, I'll kiss you."_

_Byakuya's eyebrow twitches but he shows no other reaction, "You would not."_

_I grinned,_ _ Don't underestimate my mistress _ _, says Yokoso quietly. I dropped my tone into a husky one and wrapped my hands around Byakuya's shoulders and started massaging them, "Want to try me?"_

_Byakuya's eyebrow twitches again, but he doesn't say anything._

_"I love you, Byakuya," my voice is barely a whisper as I rub my cheek against his. Byakuya's eyes widen before he throws down his quill and and stands up from his desk._ _Every moment is crucial,_ _warns Yokoso. Not risking a victory cheer, I take a tight hold of Byakuya's arm and push off as hard as I can and shunpo outside, dragging him along with me._

_Once we're outside, I let go of him and start twirling around with my hands held high up in the air, "Yay! I win!" I said laughing, and stuck out my tongue at him._

_Byakuya sighs and closes his eyes, "Very well."_

_"Yay! I win again!" I yell, pointing at the moon, and a drop of water falls on my head, "So there! Let's go!" I start running ahead, then pause when I realized Byakuya wasn't following me. Another wet drop travels through the space between us and falls onto the ground, "Byakuya!"_

_Byakuya turns his back to me, "It is raining. We should go back inside." I frowned, and stayed where I was. The unsaid 'You'll get sick' hung in the air._

_"It's just a slight drizzle, Byakuya, lighten up!" Silence. I sighed, realizing that we both weren't going anywhere, "Fine. If you won't come, I guess..." I paused, hesitating. My eye twitched as I saw Byakuya's lips raise into a ghost of a smile, "I'll just go by myself!" I shunpoed away, stopping twenty feet away from the Shihoin Manor. Oh yeah._

_Nee-san had set up a couple of strong kido spells that forbid anyone but herself to shunpo directly to the Manor after I complained about Byakuya shunpoing. Well, actually, anyone can shunpo directly to the Manor as long as they went at the speeds Nee-san set, but only Nee-san could go that fast. Did I mention the speeds supposingly increase at every break point?_

_Stupid Byakuya. Hmph. Oh well, who needs him anyways? I'll just have fun on my own...I guess._

_I started trudging there on foot feeling the rain wet my hair. The rain feels cold but...kind of nice... Something brushes my neck and I whirl around to see something blurry pass me and picks me up in a flash. Suddenly we come to a startling halt and I blink. There was a moment of silence where the drip drop of raindrops echoed through the darkness. What just happened?_

_"Gomen," says a voice softly, "My shunpo shall surpass hers one day."_

_"Byakuya!" my eyes widen and my lips part into an 'O', "You, you..You actually came?" Byakuya looks back at me stoically. I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him, snuggling into his warm kimono (how he changed into it from his uniform so quickly is still a mystery). Water dripped from the ends of his hair onto the back of my neck, "Arigato, Byakuya. Demo, I think we'll have to go on foot, thanks to Nee-san's minimum shunpo speed limit."_

_I withdraw myself and slip my dripping wet hand into his and jerk my hand back immediately when both of us flinch. "Your hand is hot/cold!" we said at the same time. I slip my hand back into his slowly, "Ne, Byakuya, you're not sick, are you?"_

_He doesn't answer, he simply walks on with me towards the Shihoin Manor. Raindrops start to fall more heavily and I shiver, edging closer to Byakuya and longing for his warmth. "I think you are the one who is sick," Byakuya deadpans. I shake my head but edge closer to him. I hear a sigh of irritation before Byakuya quickens his pace and I instantly start to run to keep up. Another sigh of irritation is heard before I'm slung over his shoulder and soon under a welcoming roof._

_The door flings open at once and Esaly's suddenly there with a towel wrapped around me and drying me off like a kitten. My nose twitches and I push past her and rush into the bathroom and slam the door shut. I sneezed. There we go. I reached for the door nob then whirled around and fell back against it the door when I felt my nose twitch again. I sneezed. My nose twitches, and I wait but nothing comes._

_"Tatomi-sama? Ne, Tatomi-sama, are you alright?"_

_I nodded and remembered afterwards that Esaly couldn't see me, "Hai, I'm okay." I say, pinching my nose to (hopefully) stop the sneeze._

_Silence, then:_

_"Tatomi, open the door." Byakuya._

_"Iie, I'm fine."_

_"Tatomi,"_

_"Byakuya, seriously, I just need to-" my nose twitches again and the door pushes onto my back._

_"Tatomi, let me in." My feet slip and the door opens a milimeter. Damn! My nose twitches and I run to the wall and madly rip off tissue and stuff it over my nose. The door bangs open, drowning out the sneeze._

_I turn around slowly while holding the tissue over my nose and give Byakuya the most innocent look I could manage, "Gomen, Byakuya, I just needed to- *Achoo!*-uh, sneeze. Again." I look over at Esaly who looked quite torn, "Ne, Esaly, you should go or you won't make it back to Nishimaru-san before the thunder comes."_

_"But, Tatomi-sama, you're..." Esaly shakes her head, "I can't leave you here while you're like this."_

_"Esaly," I gave her a glare, "I am perfectly fine-"_

_"-Tatomi is currently incapable of making sane judgements," says Byakuya, "I will look after her." Esaly pauses, casts Byakuya and I a suspicious look before bustling out. A moment later we heard the Manor's door close. I grin and turn to Byakuya when I saw the look on his face. Uh oh. My smile vanishes. He wraps his arm around my waist and drags me into my room with a We-need-to-talk-and-afterwards-you-shall-be-punished-for-disturbing-the-peace-of-this-calm-evening._

_I'm standing on one side of the wall with my arms crossed over my dry sweater-dress I changed into while Byakuya's on the other wearing a large dark green yukata that had been hanging at the back of my closet for 'Emergencies' was what Esaly called it. Normally I'd laugh, but Byakuya's shooting daggers at me with his eyes. I waited a few moments before trying again, "I really don't see why you're so angry. I told you I don't get sick easily, and you know that from pushing me into ponds several times."_

_"A false claim," says Byakuya quietly, "I did not intentionally cause you to ungraciously go headlong into the water."_

_I frowned, wishing Byakuya didn't look so serious. And...he looked a bit frustrated but not at me. And...a bit sad. I heard him sigh, and a suffocating feeling forms in my chest; this evening was suppose to be fun. I bit my lip and took a breath before closing the space between us and wrapping my arms around Byakuya, pulling myself into him, and I felt him stiffen, "Subete no daijobu (It's okay), ne Byakuya."_

_After a few moments I felt his arms go around me. "Hai, you're right." I yelp in pain and jump back, holding my nose. He pinched you again, Yokoso's voice is filled with laughter. I glare at Byakuya, but my glare soon fades and I return his (ghost) smile. _

_"So now that I win, again," I said happily, pulling open the "Entertainment" drawer that had sakura petals all over it, "Let's find something to do...how 'bout a movie?"_

_Byakuya cocked his head, "A...movie?"_

_I chuckled and pulled out my favorite, "It's like..um..lots of pictures that flow smoothly and has words. This one's my favorite, want to-" I pause, seeing Byakuya look weirdly at the picture of Garfield smiling and Odie licking his face. Yes I know better, but it was worth a try, "'Kay, how bout this one?" I sighed and opened the second drawer but Byakuya rejected the ones I pulled out._

_"You said I'm deciding," Byakuya points out. I hesitate before grudgingly moving aside and letting him choose. To my horror he closes the drawer and opens the bottom one. Byakuya pulls out one with the cover of a purple smiling face with the words 'Scream', and examines the cover quizzically._

_I sighed, "That's not the original cover. I made a new one because the old one was just too-"_

_"Let's watch this one." My eyes buldged._

_"Byakuya, that one is a-"_

_"You said I'm deciding."_

_I shook my head, "That one-"_

_"You said I'm deciding."_

_"Byakuya."_

_"You said-"_

_I let myself drop onto the floor, "Just promise me you won't leave me alone here."_

_"..Alright," Byakuya says, taking out the DVD with what looked like a ghost of a smile. I huffed and flipped over on my stomach, watching him insert it in. Great, I thought, I don't think I can live through this without food._

_I grabbed the remote and tossed it to him, "Fiddle around with this until I get back." I stood up and soon returned with a tray of tea and a large box with popcorn. Even the kitchen gave me creeps by me just thinking about 'Scream'. Urahara had first showed it to me and I had never. Ever. You never forgave him, you just forgot about it, says Yokoso smugly, well, I'll enjoy seeing you squirm. Shut up! It's not fair: you've never seen it._

_I set the tray on the coffee table and sat down with Byakuya on my (very) large comfy chair, secretly pleased that Byakuya had somehow managed to work with technology successfully._

_I grip the end of my sweater-dress nervously as the blond girl is shown and everything zooms into her cellphone. My hands find the way to each other and I squeeze my hands nervously, knowing the voice would come out next. I sneek a look to Byakuya who looks bored, then his eyes widen when they meet mine and I look away just as the flirting between the voice and Ms. Blondie becomes really...scary. I look down and concentrate on pouring tea and counting the number of popcorn kernels going into my mouth._

_The sound of music tugs my eyes back to the screen and I'm just in time to see the garage door fall. I jump and take hold of the nearest thing beside me. I bite my lip and cring, hearing the screams as her head..yeah. I tighten my grip when I see the guys out investigating, knowing it might be the last time they talk to each other again. It's eerie to go back and look at the person breathing and living while knowing that they'll be dead in a few hours. Or minutes, if it's on film._

_The explict scene comes next and suddenly something falls over my eyes and I let out a high-pitched squeak and took a wild swing before realizing it was Byakuya. I trembled, knowing the murder would come in a few minutes._

_There's a pause and a dark pulse of reliatsu emerges from Byakuya before he says, "An inappropriate scene for reputable and ingenue audience members. With such a degree of lust, I would personally recommend them to have sex more often. For safety precaution."_

_I froze. Wait, what?!... Yokoso, was I hearing things?  Nope, I heard it too. Wait, what did you here? Must I repeat it? He said '...I would personally recommend them to have sex more often. For safety precaution.' *aside* Senbonzakura, what is wrong with your master?! "Ne, Byakuya, are you feeling okay?" I say hesitantly. I hear the sound of metal hitting flesh and slowly pry Byakuya's hand away from my eyes._

_Byakuya frowns, "Who do you think you're talking to?"_

_I get up slowly while watching Byakuya suspiciously. I pour a cup of tea and hand it to Byakuya, "Here. Um, this will probably get you back to normal."_

_Byakuya looks confused but takes it. Suddenly a bloody face is shoved onto the camera and all we could see is a maniac smile with- I automatically dive for the remote and turn off the T.V. Holy Koi fish that was scary. That was scary. I hope I- will be able to one day watch what happens after this part? Yokoso whispers teasingly. Yes. Wait, what? No! Of course not! "Tatomi, give me the remote."_

_I shook my head, "I need to turn it off," I said, my voice quavering._

_"You already have."_

_"No," I shook my head again, seeing the face on the screen "It's still there, it's still there, it's still-"_

_"Tatomi, who's face do you see?" Byakuya's hands gently but firmly tilts my chin to look at him._

_Violet eyes. Scarf. I took a deep breath, hoping my voice wouldn't tremble, "Byakuya..Byakuya Kuchiki."_

_"Now look back at the screen," he instructed._

_I start quivering again. Look at it. But I'll see-  Just look. It's blank. Oh thank god it's blank. Arigato. Arigato. It's blank. Arigato. My fingers are pried away from the remote and Byakuya sets it beside the tray of tea-just tea since I finished the box during the first quarter of the movie. I hiccup and the tears started to flow-from relief or bottled up from before, I'm not sure. Maybe both. _

_Byakuya shifts close to me protectively and draws me into his chest. He caresses my hair, murmuring comforting words that I can't make out. It's just warm, really warm. After a while the trembling lessens and the hiccuping gradually stops._

_I sit up and rub my eyes, "Sorry, Byakuya...the movie is just really scary." And so diving into the comfort of a man who said '...I would personally recommend them to have sex more often. For safety precaution.' is okay with you? Yokoso says, amused (at my expense). I pause and say carefully, "Ano, Byakuya, did you enjoy it? The movie?"_

_Byakuya paused, then a ghost of a smile creeps in, "When I was watching, the characters' suddenly turned into people whom I knew. It was...educational."_

_I stared at Byakuya, "You meant it?" Silence. I clarified, "Why did you, um, during that part you said you'd, uh, for safety precautions, um, personally recommend them to have, um-"_

_Byakuya nodded, "Tests."_

_"Tests?!" Tests?! He said tests?! For STDs and stuff?! Oh yes that does make more sense now. I smiled, completely relieved, "Arigato, Kami-sama!" I cheered and literally glomped Byakuya whom inhales sharply as his eyes widen. Tests. Okay. That's good. Thank goodness; I can sleep in peace now... Sleep?! Here? Mistress, you're- Yokoso paused, sensing I was already drifting off into darkness, Ah never mind. Just don't expect me to explain to you tomorrow._

Um. Oh.

A hand reaches up and I step back a moment too late. "Ow!" I rub my nose and glare at Byakuya, "What was that for?!"

"You were staring so intently for a full hour," Byakuya states nonchalantly. My eyes widen, _what? Yeah, you just totally spaced out,_ says Yokoso and I mentally facepalm myself, _and looked so much like an idiot that I was so tempted to materialize and give you a good whack on the head._ _Oh._ I study the ground and realized the duvet was still around my shoulders. No wonder the warmth had felt so real.

"Hey, Byakuya," I pause, and look up and give him a sincere smile, "Thanks. For yesterday. And staying overnight." I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but Byakuya's facial features seem to slightly soften for a moment. "Byakuya," I said quietly, taking a step forwards and reached up to fix his scarf, "I know I left you for so long but...Please don't ever..don't leave me alone. Please don't."

Byakuya nods, and I'm only half-aware that I'm being crushed into him. I open my mouth to say that every time I flippin' thought about it I-but Byakuya cuts me off with a pinch to my nose.

I muster up a smile and he returns it with a serious look. We stay like that for a few seconds.

"As long as you promise me one thing." I nodded. Byakuya narrows his eyes at me, "Don't you dare leave me again."

I grinned, "I'll try not to."


	10. Yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Our honeymoon won't last forever_   
>  _But I hope we'll stay together_   
>  _There will be times_   
>  _I'll say you're wrong and we will fight_   
>  _And we may be alone some nights_   
>  _You have your pride, and I have mine_   
>  _If we don't lose faith_   
>  _We'll get along fine._
> 
>  
> 
> Tatomi decides to marry Byakuya, they say their vows and live happily ever after. If only if life was that simple.

**~~TATOMI'S POV~~   
**

_I'm scared,_ I thought, feeling Rangiku's slim fingers zip up the back of the dress, fluffing out the skirt of the dress like an expert. _I'm actually scared._ I rubbed my sweaty palms against each other, hoping it would act like some sort of lotion or moisturizer. _Ha ha, this is so funny._ _It is not funny. How is it funny? Wait no, I forgot, you just enjoy laughing at my expense, don't you?_ _Purr. See? Even the kitten is laughing at you._ _..._ _You're more scared of a wedding than when you were in a life-threatening situation, mistress. If that's not funny, I don't know what is._

I bit my lip, Yokoso had a point there. That didn't stop me from being scared. Rangiku pokes me at the bodice, and I blink, "What is it?"

"You're so quiet," says Rangiku, peering into my face, "Aw, Tatomin, are you scared? Don't be scared. Here, it's a good thing I brought some sake for you to calm your nerves! I'm not nervous, and I'm the maid of honor!"

"Rangiku-chan-"

"Now, don't thank me, just drink it and forget about yourself!" Rangiku thrusts the bottle at me, which she had hidden under her skirt, smiling widely. My stomach churned at the thought of sake. Seeing me pale, Rangiku hurriedly puts it away. She takes my clammy hands in hers, and looks at me seriously, "Look, Tatomin. I think I know how you feel. It'll be over before you know it. If you do anything embarrassing, it'll just be something we can laugh about later, okay?"

"But I don't want to do something that we can laugh about later!" I wailed, feeling tears of some random emotion prick my eyes, "I don't know what to do! What am I suppose to expect? What if I forget to take Byakuya's arm? What if I-"

Rangiku silences me by putting a hand on my lips, "Then he'll take it for you." I stared at Rangiku. She gives me a small smile, "Don't you think Byakuya would do that?"

I nodded.

"Tato-kitty!" the door slams open, revealing Nee-san, "Lets get going! You are ready, right?"

 

I nodded. Okay. Here it comes. You can do this, mistress. You're not alone. Yeah, okay. Yeah. I can totally do this.I stare blankly at the sheet, our marriage certificate we had to sign. I felt like hitting myself. How in the world do I write my name? Or rather, how do I sign my name? I don't remember what I do usually. _What do I do?!_

My hand hovers over my name.

Byakuya touches my arm comfortingly, but it doesn't help. I can't remember. Byakuya looks at me questioningly, and I felt my cheeks burn, "Byakuya...I can't..I can't remember how I, um, use to write my signature..."

I think Rangiku heard me, due to her sudden need to cough. Byakuya's eyes glimmer with amusement, but he didn't laugh. I sent a silent prayer of thanks for  his poker face abilities. "Just write it, it'll come naturally."

 _Clear your mind. I will help you._ I nodded, and drew the pen over the paper, feeling Yokoso come in and guide me.

"Byakuya Kuchiki and Tatomi Shihoine are now husband and wife. May happiness shine on them forever."

Everyone clapped, and I could've sworn Byakuya was suppose to kiss me. He doesn't move for a few seconds, and I jab him sharply in the ribs. He sharply inhales, turns stiffly around, and gives me the shortest, most brief kiss ever.

Laughter escapes from my lips as soon as he draws away.

_My Byakuya was actually nervous._

He had been nervous. Or, is, present tense. 

Byakuya narrows his eyes at me, causing me to laugh even harder. Okay, 'had been', past tense. 

This.

Was.

Hilarious.

* * *

  _Words cannot express how I feel,_   
_And you tell me I don't need to._   
_But I will try my best anyway,_   
_and maybe you'll meet me halfway_

* * *

 

"Don't forget, you forgot how to write your signature," Byakuya's voice whispers in my ear. Then it's my turn to glare at him, and his turn to smirk. I look around the place, seeing that the reception part was coming to a close. Byakuya left my side, and went to greet the guests.

"Tatomi-chan," says a voice behind me.

"Good evening, Kuchiki-dono," I smiled and bowed to Ginrei-dono.

"Congratulations. I see that finally Byakuya has come to his senses," says Ginrei-dono quite seriously.

"Yes. I am happy that he has," I say softly, "Are you tired, Ginrei-dono? It has been a long day."

Ginrei-dono nods, "I will be excusing myself and returning to the manor now, if you don't mind."

I looked around until I saw Byakuya a few meters away. Suddenly craving for some privacy, I rush over and touch his arm. He merely strokes my fingers with his, and continues his conversation. I sigh irritatingly and nudge him with my elbow.

"What is this you do?" says Byakuya, turning to me.

"Let's go home," I said, leaning my head against his, "I'm tired, and you are too."

"Then it would be best to return quickly."

"Yes, it would," I said slowly, not knowing where this conversation was going. Byakuya led me outside, and scooped me up in his arms. "NOT SHUNPO AGAIN-" _Sometimes I don't even know why you bother to say that. He will never listen to that part of you. ..._

Byakuya sets me down on the bed, and helps me unzip the back zipper. His hands wrap around my head, covering my eyes.

"Byakuya?"

"Open your mouth."

"Why? What are you-" I felt something familiar and sweet pop in, and I smile widely, savouring the taste. I open my mouth again, and another piece of dragon fruit falls in. Byakuya's hand slips away, revealing a bowl of dragon fruit on the bedside table. "Mmm...I love you Byakuya," I said happily, reaching for another piece.

Byakuya actually grins this time, and I shoot him a questioning look. He caresses my hair, pulling me close to him and whispers in my ear, "Your facial expression." _My what?!_ I reach for another piece, but can't reach due to his tight grip around my waist. I give in, and lean on him instead, causing us to fall onto the bed.

"Tatomi,"

"What is it this time?!"

"I love you."

"Yeah, okay, now quit talking."


End file.
